Deadline Week: Potato Soup

Deadline Week: Potato Soup

I’ve got a deadline this week, so blogging will probably be light, and since the temperature hasn’t gone above thirty since Friday, I thought perhaps a recpie for potato soup might be in order. There’s just about nothing cheaper, it’s dead simple, and infinitely variable. The basic recipe is, of course, Julia Child’s:

  • 1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled (you want a mealy potato, not a waxy one)
  • 1 lb. leeks or onions (onions are much cheaper, and my leeks are currently frozen in the garden)
  • 1 tbsp. butter or olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • water

Really. That’s it. Peel and cut up the potatoes. Chop the onions or leeks. Melt the butter or oil in a pot and saute the leeks or onions until they’re soft. Add the spuds, salt, and water to cover. Cook until the potatoes are falling apart, and either mash with a potato masher, or pureee with a food mill or immersion blender. Sometimes I add a carrot or two to the soup, I like the sweetness and color. Also, a clove of garlic or some thyme can be nice as well.

Variations, here are a few variations I like. I add these after pureeing the soup, so that there’s some interesting texture:

  • Cut up cubes of ham
  • Thinly-sliced kale
  • Frozen corn
  • Frozen peas
  • Dollop of cream or sour cream when serving

This is such a delicious, cheap and easy soup that there’s no end to the experimentation you can do with it. We had some last week with a fresh loaf of No-Knead bread and there were leftovers, so I think tonight we’ll finish it off, with some sort of variation. Warm soup on a cold nigh. Yum.

2 thoughts on “Deadline Week: Potato Soup

  1. I’m making chili, bread, and brownies right now. It’s coolish and raining here. It’s way more fun to bake when it isn’t in the 90s!

  2. I have to tell you my daughter was inspired by her gastronomy class at Huxley College of the Environment so she bought some organic blue potatoes and some local dairy milk at the Bellingham Farmers Market. She made a potato leek soup and called me to report that blue potatoes turned the soup purple! I’m proud that I didn’t laugh until I hung up the phone…

Comments are closed.

Comments are closed.