Starting with the basics: Episode 6
Potato Soup
As winter is fast approaching and the weather gets colder, there is nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. I feel like everyone needs a good soup recipe under their belt. This potato soup is flavorful, indulgent, and best of all easy to make.
This soup has classic potato soup flavors but is kicked up with bacon and cheese. If you are going to learn how to make one soup this winter, make it potato soup.
Lets get started cooking…
Edit: To make gluten free use Gluten free flour.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of bacon
1 cup of diced onion ( 1 medium onion)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 carrots diced
3 celery stalks diced
1/4 cup of flour
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (I prefer homemade chicken bone broth)
2 cups of milk
1.5 pounds of potatoes diced, Russets, or Yukon Gold
1 cup of shredded cheddar
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste.
Directions:
1) Cook the bacon. I’m going to teach you a life hack that will make your life so much easier when cooking bacon! Line a baking sheet with foil and place the bacon on it. Set the oven to 385 degrees, no need to preheat the oven. Cook the bacon for about 15-25 minutes depending on the cut. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking. This makes the best bacon. The best part, you don’t have grease all over your kitchen and the foil protects the baking sheet. The clean up is easy!
2) While your bacon is cooking, chop your vegetables and mince your garlic.
3) Using a tablespoon, spoon a few spoonful’s of bacon grease into a pot. Add your carrots, celery and onion. Sauté for about 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
4) If you are good at multi- tasking, dice up the potatoes while the vegetables are sautéing. If you want to focus on your vegetables, you can dice the potatoes when you chop the vegetables. If you do this, place the potatoes in cold water while you sauté your vegetables to prevent browning.
5) Add flour to the carrots, onion, celery and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat to get rid of the raw flour taste. Then add your chicken or vegetable stock, potatoes, and milk. (not the heavy cream)
6) Bring the soup up to a simmer. Place the soup on the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 10 -15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Once the potatoes are soft you can add in the heavy cream and cheese OR
use an immersion blender and slightly blend up the potatoes. It gives extra body and creaminess to the soup. Once the potatoes are slightly blended, add in the cheese and heavy cream.
Season with salt and pepper. Do not under salt! I use a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper.
7) Ladle your soup in a mug or bowl. Top with extra cheese and chopped bacon. You can also add a bit of chopped green onion for color. Grab a warm blanket. This is a soup that should enjoyed cuddled up on the couch.
