Sweet Potato and Bacon Soup

I am currently on a community placement for my dietetics degree, and last week we had soup day. Being the food and cooking lover that I am, I put my hand up to make a soup, and after about a week of deliberation this lovely soup is what I came up with. Soup day was perfectly timed with the 'snow' that Canberra experienced last week, so I can attest that this is a perfect winter warmer.   

This is a nice slow and steady soup, good to make if you want to put it on and read a book for a couple of hours, not so good if you're in a hurry.  

What you need? 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion'

2 cloves of garlic

2 stalks of celery

1 carrot

500g bacon bones (I picked mine up from the farmer's markets, I'm sure any butcher would have them)

3 medium sweet potatoes, cut up into cubes

2- 2.5L water

What you do? 

1. Heat the oil up in a medium saucepan (I use a pressure cooker and it works well), and add onion, garlic, carrot and celery and saute for around 5 minutes or until translucent. 
2. Add the bacon bones, and the water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 1.5 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the bones, and shred the meat when cool, and set aside. 
3. Place the sweet potato into the liquid and simmer for a further 30-35 minutes, or until sweet potato is tender. 
4. Set aside to cool, then blend to desired consistency. Return to pan, add shredded bacon and enjoy with toast or crusty bread, sprinkled with parsley.