Sweet potato soup with feta and za'atar oil

The problem with food as souvenirs is that I find myself unable to actually eat the food because I want to preserve the memory. I didn't actually GO to Israel, but I like being reminded of my friend who lived there every time I look at my jar of za'atar.

My giant jar of za'atar that I will never, ever get through. I got a little greedy last year when this friend brought back a little half pint container of the stuff, and my roommate and I finished it within weeks. There's something about this Israeli za'atar that was zestier and less sawdust-like than the giant bag of it I had bought at Sahadi's. So obviously when my friend was going back to visit her boyfriend, I requested a much larger amount.

Hence, the 20 oz or so of the stuff that I am slowly getting my way through. Maybe you want to take some off my hands?

Sweet potato soup with feta and za'atar oil
Adapted from Food52

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons za'atar
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 leek, thinly sliced
5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1" dice
2 quarts vegetable stock
feta cheese

In a small pot, combine the olive oil and za'atar and heat over medium heat until warmed-through. Be careful not to burn the za'atar. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool and infuse.

In a large pot, melt the butter with a few glugs of olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and leek and cook until soft but not browned. Add the sweet potato and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over lower heat for about half an hour, or until the potatoes are soft. Puree with an immersion blender and add more stock if too thick or cook down a bit if too thin. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

To serve, garnish with crumbled feta and za'atar oil to taste. That's it!

Note: I made this soup when a friend came over for dinner and made the scalloped tomatoes as well since I still had tomatoes and half a baguette in the house. Made it with capers this time...and as predicted it was good!