Potato Soup

Well, not many people replied to my social media query about your favorite soups, but coming in with the most votes, was potato soup. I’m almost not sure what to do with that nominee, as a Google search yielded over 4,000,000 results (I had to put on my reading glasses to make sure I was reading that correctly). Perhaps that’s because you can add potatoes to any soup, and voilà potato soup! In all my years of soup making, between my years running the Hungry Moon, and my years in food service coming up with two soups daily, five days a week for four years, I don’t recall ever making a soup I called potato soup, though I did make Vichyssoise, which I love equally hot or cold, and is of course potato soup. This is new territory for me, and I love new culinary territory.

My favorite dog-eared soup cookbook offers 13  versions, smooth, chunky, chowders etc. I add potatoes to all chowders, I believe it’s not a proper chowder without potatoes. A friend sent me a link for a restaurant offering Caldo Verde, what they described as “a potato base with sausage and kale”, and that sounded mighty good to me. There are many recipes that claim to replicate a loaded baked potato with lots of cheese and bacon, and though they do sound good, that’s not what I envision. And I ask myself what is it I do picture? Or more important, what flavors do I conjure?

I knew I wanted cheese, but that’s a pretty broad spectrum of flavor. Gruyère would have given me a gooey, silky texture with a deep, nutty flavor, and I would have had to add white wine, and now we’re starting to melt into fondue territory (see what I did there?). I decided on a white, sharp New York cheddar, for its robust taste, and a good melter. I use stock for almost all my soups, and though I had intended to make this one with vegetable stock, I forgot to buy it, and I always have chicken stock in my pantry, so that’s what I used.

There aren’t a lot of ingredients in this soup, and though I puréed less than half of mine, to give it a creamy texture without adding a roux, if you like a fully puréed soup, that’s good too. The rest are basic soup ingredients, including a standard mirepoix of celery, onion and carrots, and it’s the carrots, not the cheese that give the soup it’s pretty color.

I ended up with a fairly simple, but really good soup. No meat, no greens, a little chunky, a little rock and roll. Do you have a favorite potato soup recipe?

Potato Soup

Print recipe

• Print with all photos
• Print text only

Ingredients

• 2lb Idaho or russet potatoes (peeled and diced into 1/2)
• 1 Large Spanish onion (1/2)
• 12oz carrots (peeled and diced into 1/2)
• 3-4 stalks celery (1/2)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced fine)
• 8oz good quality New York cheddar (grated)
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions

Step 1

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large soup pot When oil is shimmering add celery and onions Sweat on low heat for 10 minutes Add garlic and continue to sweat vegetables for 5 more minutes Add carrots, and cook 5 more minutes

Step 2

Add stock to vegetables, stir in potatoes, and salt Cover, raise heat to medium and cook for 40-50 minutes, until all vegetables are soft

Step 3

Remove about 3-4 cups of soup to a blender or other container to puree. (If using a blender, be very cautious! Don't put the lid on all the way, it can 'explode' open from the heat, so make sure the opening is covered, but not tightly.

Step 4

Return the pureed soup to the pot, and stir to combine. add cheese, and continue stirring until the cheese has melted, taste and adjust for seasoning