Potato Soup

Potato soup is potentially one of my favorite winter recipes.  While I know it isn't winter yet (although the forecast this week reminds me that it is just around the corner), this recipe was fitting for us this week because we have loads and loads of potatoes.  We went to a farm with some friends this weekend and harvested potatoes, onions and squash... after digging in the dirt, we came home with lots of tasty veggies, not to mention tons of pumpkins to carve!

Daniel after harvesting a huge bag of potatoes...

With rumor of snow heading our way this week and potatoes coming out of our ears, potato soup was the perfect meal this evening!  What I love about this recipe is it is an excellent way to cook with many different veggies.  If you don't have some of the funky ingredients that I used in ours this batch, no worries, you can make so many different variations of this recipe.  I'll list the key ingredients along with some possible variations.



The Base Recipe

• Potatoes (I used about 15 small to medium sized Russet potatoes; this is approximately 5 large Russet potatoes) - quartered
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• Herbs (I use an herb mix called Herbes de Provence along with Oregano and Celery Salt).  I use approximately 2 teaspoons of each type of herb.
• Salt and pepper
• Cheese and sour cream 

Add the potatoes, onions, and garlic to a medium or large sized crock pot.  Add the herbs and toss the potato mixture to evenly distribute the herbs.  Add enough chicken broth so it covers approximately 3/4 of the potato mixture.  If you prefer a thinner soup, add enough broth so that it nearly covers the potato mixture.  Allow to cook on low for 8-10 hours.  

Puree the soup using a hand blender or transfer the soup to a blender in batches.  I use milk to think the soup to my desired consistency and then season with salt and pepper.  We always enjoy our potato soup with cheese and sour cream.

I must admit... I think this soup is even better with extra veggies!  Here are my two favorite variations:

Fennel

Fennel and Leek Variation:

• 4 leeks (chopped and rinsed thoroughly; I like to soak my leeks to remove any grit that may be hiding)
• 1 fennel bulb

Chop the leeks and fennel and add to the potato mixture and cook as directed above.  

Celery Root

Spicy Potato Soup:

• 3 carrots - chopped 2-3 inches long
• Celery root (perhaps one of the coolest veggies I've cooked with).  If you use celery root, peel the root and chop into chunks that are approximately the same size as your potatoes.  You could use celery instead of celery root.
• 1 turnip - chopped to the same size as the potatoes
• 2 Jalapeños - diced (seeds removed!) - our soup was medium-hot.  If you'd like it milder, use 1 jalapeño or try poblano or anaheim peppers.

Add the veggies to the crock pot along with the potatoes.  When I made this variation, I was sure to add one cup milk to cut the spice of the peppers (as I mentioned above).   I also added 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon yellow curry.  It was delicious!