Rustic Red Potato Soup. As my first posting for the New Year, I’ve been busy rustling up my favorite Rustic Red Potato Soup! Five pounds of red potatoes along with onions, celery, butter, vegetable or chicken stock, and a touch of cream simmer together for a satisfying winter soup. Topped with a garnish of crumbled crispy bacon and chopped garden chives, you’ll forget it’s cold outside and dig right into this soup.
When I am spending time at home on winter weekends, I really want the house to smell wonderful. Simmering my Rustic Red Potato Soup helps bring some comfort and familiarity after a long week of work.
This soup is a favorite of mine because it’s slightly pink. The skins from the red potatoes are not removed. When the soup is pureed, it has a pretty-in-pink blush tinge.
Start by quartering some red potatoes. Saute some onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil. Add the red potatoes and some chicken broth/stock. Simmer until the potatoes are soft. Remove the soup from the heat and puree it using a hand blender
Season with salt and pepper, top with chopped fresh chives and crumbled crispy bacon, and serve!
Top with some shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled crispy bacon and even a dollop of sour cream for a “loaded baked potato” style soup.
NOTE: If you’re looking for some ideas on how to eat healthier this year, check out my Eating Healthier posting from last year.
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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….
Rustic Red Potato Soup
Ingredients:
5 lbs red potatoes, washed, skins left on, and quartered
3 T butter or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, sliced (can use leafy tops)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
8 c chicken broth/stock, plus more for thinning
1 c heavy cream (optional)
salt and pepper
Chopped chives, for garnish
Crumbled crispy bacon, for garnish
Special Tools:
Hand blender
Method:
1. Prepare the potatoes and set aside.
2. Heat the butter or olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-low heat.
3. Saute the onion, celery, and carrot until the vegetables have wilted and slightly caramelized.
4. Add the potatoes and the chicken stock.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for up to 2 hours. Add more liquid to keep the potatoes covered as the soup cooks.
6. Remove the stock pot from the heat. Puree the soup using a hand blender or puree in batches using a regular blender. Puree to your liking, whether smooth or a bit chunky. The soup will turn slightly pink due to the red bits of skin left on the potatoes.
7. Return the stock pot to the burner.
8. Add additional chicken broth/stock to the soup for your desired consistency.
9. Stir in the optional heavy cream.
10. Season the soup with salt and pepper, to taste.
11. Ladle the soup into soup bowls. Garnish with the chives and bacon.
12. Enjoy!
Serves 6 – 8 as a main course, 10 – 12 as a soup course. Serve with a side salad such as my Simple Cucumber Salad and some crusty bread as a main course. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream for a “loaded baked potato” flavor.
Variations: Use vegetarian broth/stock instead of chicken broth/stock. Leave out the heavy cream if you are watching your dairy or fat intake. You could add bits of diced ham to this soup instead of topping with bacon. In the summer, you can serve this soup cold with the chives and the bacon on top. Usually I make this soup “vegan” by omitting the butter, cream and bacon, and instead using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. For any meat eaters, I can add a splash of heavy cream to their soup bowl and then top their soup with the bacon and optional cheese.
Order your own hand blender
Thanks to everyone who is following A Food Lover’s Delight! I’m headed into my third year of this blog. It’s a great place for me to keep my recipe repository, and I’m happy to share with all of you.
www.afoodloversdelight.com (Copyright Adroit Ideals 2015)
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