Thursday, July 23, 2020

Hearty Potato Soup

I used skim milk for this. Tasty, but next time I'll have cream on hand. Even better!
So, you are looking at my 1st attempt at potato soup. My mother made beef vegetable, chicken noodle, pea, lentil, and bean soup. Never potato soup. We only used potatoes as a side dish, not as the main ingredient of a soup. But recently, I tossed diced potatoes and ingredients into a pot and voilà! It got so many likes on Facebook, I decided to post it here on the blog, so I remember how to make it again. The next time, I will make it even creamier:

Potato Soup

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, diced
1 small onion, diced
About 6 strips of bacon, fried in a pan
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large chicken bouillon cube (or you can use chicken stock and salt to taste)
Dried spices to taste - black pepper, garlic, rosemary, cilantro, Herbs de Provence, nutmeg, whatever you like. (If you use a chicken bouillon cube, remember to omit the salt.)
2 cups milk (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)

Optional: Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1) Toss several strips of bacon into a chef skillet (so you won't have to clean 2 pans). One-pan cooking rocks!🙂 Set the bacon aside.

2) Sautè the diced potatoes and onion in the bacon grease for 5 minutes or so, then drain the grease. (If too much grease to began with, pour some of it out first. You don't need much to grill the potatoes and onion.)

3) Next add the celery, carrots, milk (plus cream if you decide
to use it), chicken bouillon (or stock) and spices. 

You do need a fat (either bacon grease, or a couple of tablespoons of butter) to prevent the milk from cruddling while cooking. Therefore if you use skim milk and no bacon grease, 1st make a simple roux with butter and all-purpose flour in the pan, then add your soup ingredients.

4) Bring the soup to a simmer. Cook on medium-low until the potatoes, carrots and celery are tender. It's all you have to do.

But, if the soup is not thick enough for you, thicken it by taking 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour dissolved into a little water and carefully add it to the soup. (To prevent lumps add a little hot soup to the mixture before dropping it into the pot.) Cook the soup for 5 minutes longer to thicken. (I didn't need to do this -- but it's an extra step I take if a soup, stew or gravy needs more thickening.)

5) After you put the potato soup into bowls, top with crumbled crispy bacon (and shredded cheddar cheese) if you wish. I tend not to put the cheese and bacon into the soup during the cooking stage because they dissolve and you can't taste them as well. (Plus you then need more of these calorie-rich treats for your dish. A garnish gives you the taste without the higher calories.) Better to enjoy cheese and bacon (so easy to do!😍) in moderation. 

The soup is on. Bon Appètit!


You may also enjoy:
A Party At Ryan's Daughter
Watches, Tales And Sprouts
Egg Thread Soup With Asparagus Plus
Tomato Soup With A Grilled Cheese Sandwich 

2 comments:

  1. That really does look delicious Debra, and just the thing for us right now. It is quite cold here this week at our place. Hope all goes well with you.

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    1. Simple and delicious is my verdict, Trish. Comfort food. Enjoy and have a good weekend!

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