Cream of Potato Soup

prep 20 min.

ready 50 min.

serves 4-6

We now have a total of 5 inches of snow and temperatures below freezing. It feels more like winter than fall. A friend of mine said it’s time to start making soup. It’s also time to start wearing sweaters, long underwear, and down jackets. I had several russet potatoes and figured a creamy potato soup would be the perfect cold-weather meal. I surveyed our freezer and discovered a couple of packages of bacon hiding there. I decided the thick-cut bacon would be perfect for this soup. I like to cook it extra crispy so that it crumbles easily.  Also, I like to use fresh herbs when I can. I had fresh cilantro from a Mexican dinner that I had made earlier in the week. I added it along with a dab of sour cream on the top of the soup. I skipped on the shredded cheese on my bowl but gave my wife a healthy topping of shredded sharp cheddar. I served the soup with a fresh loaf of artisan bread spread with Irish butter. It was the perfect meal to warm us up on a cold fall day. The pepper flakes also added a little heat of their own.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, crispy and broken into pieces

• 2 stalks celery, chopped into thin slices

• 1 onion, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 3 Tbs. butter

• 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 tsp. dried tarragon

• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions

1. In a frying pan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat about 10 minutes until crispy. Remove bacon from pan, pat dry and set aside. I cooked the bacon in a frying pan rather than doing it all in one large pan.

2. Heat the butter over medium heat and saute the celery, carrots, and onion until the onion becomes translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and pepper flakes and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the potatoes, and saute for an additional 3 minutes.

4. Scrape the sides of the pan and add the flour. Stir everything together for about 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken slightly.

5. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then partially cover the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes become tender.

6. Stir in the heavy cream and cilantro and cook for about 2 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and blend the ingredients with an emulsion blender or a potato masher. I wanted some chunks of potato so I pureed the soup for only about 30 seconds. If you want a less chunky variation of the soup to continue to puree a little longer.

8. Salt and pepper to taste. I used crushed black pepper and sea salt. I topped it with fresh cilantro, some grated sharp cheddar cheese, and a tsp. of sour cream (optional).

Serve immediately.