Potato Soup Anyone?

[Persephone]

Though I could have woken up today thinking about saving the world or grading papers or cleaning out my spare room or some other wondrous thing, instead I woke up thinking I wanted some potato soup. Maybe potato broccoli soup. Astonishingly enough, this is something I've never made "from scratch" before.

I've been looking over the recipes online, and most seem to call for chicken broth as the base for the soup. This will not do. Besides, I want mine to be creamy.

Anyway, what I really want to know is how does starting with vegetable broth and heavy cream sound? I'm having a hard time finding any one recipe that looks right to me, so I'm just piecing one together. Input from most of you is welcome.

And before you call me a twit, asshole, of course I could just figure it out and make the damn stuff, but it is a lot more fun this way. :-*

[Satan]

I don't have any recipes, but I do agree that it needs to be creamy, so that it may be eaten properly... poured over the top of your crumbled-up cornbread. ;)

[truelies]

Though I could have woken up today thinking about saving the world or grading papers or cleaning out my spare room or some other wondrous thing, instead I woke up thinking I wanted some potato soup. Maybe potato broccoli soup. Astonishingly enough, this is something I've never made "from scratch" before.

I've been looking over the recipes online, and most seem to call for chicken broth as the base for the soup. This will not do. Besides, I want mine to be creamy.

Anyway, what I really want to know is how does starting with vegetable broth and heavy cream sound? I'm having a hard time finding any one recipe that looks right to me, so I'm just piecing one together. Input from most of you is welcome.

And before you call me a twit, asshole, of course I could just figure it out and make the damn stuff, but it is a lot more fun this way. :-*


Chicken broth, boiled potatoes, milk, butter, salt & celery salt to taste. Any german/midwesterner knows that.

[Satan]

"Chicken broth will not do."

Anyone who reads carefully knows that. ;)

[Persephone]

I don't eat chicken or derivatives thereof, and I ain't no Midwesterner. But thanks for your kind advice. :)

[wendy]

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
8 cups chicken broth (OK..WE KNOW YOU DON'T EAT CHICKEN BROTH. SUBSTITUTE VEGETABLE BROTH)
2 large baking potatoes (about 2 lbs.), peeled and diced
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and lightly golden, about five minutes. Add the bay leaf and garlic and cook, stirring,, for two minutes. Add the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft about 30 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat. Discard the bay leaf. Blend until smooth. Slowly add the cream and stir to blend

[Persephone]

Thanks, Wendy. I tried to respond when you posted this, but I was having difficulties with my internet connection.

Anyway, I made the soup. I couldn't come up with any vegetable broth, so I used Knorr vegetable soup mix instead. This stuff is delicious. It's still simmering, but I had to sneak a taste. I expect it to be most excellent by the time it is actually done. If you ever have to feed a vegetarian guest, I highly recommend it. Or even if you don't have a vegetarian guest...

[wendy]

Vegetarian guest?

Get real. ;D

[stealthy]

I'm a mid-westerner and I don't use broth of any variety. Potato soup is a individual thing. You add what you like and if you like taters, it works. I boil about 8 taters diced in water with salt and pepper. I make it different almost every time, it depends on what I want to taste. When they are almost done, drain off most of the water and add milk, from that point anything goes. I add a variety of these ingredients. Diced ham, velvetta, jalopeno cheese, onions, mushrooms, brocolli, dried celery, etc. it's a what do you like kinda dish. I prefer the potato, onion, ham, cheese (jalopeno) variety myself. My relatives add chopped hard-boiled eggs. You don't need a recipe so much as you need an appetite. Whatever sounds good...try it. It will be creamy if you cook it long enough, no worry there. :)

I prefer mushroom soup with potatoes.

1 pound mushrooms, sliced or chopped (any variety)
3-4 slices bacon, chopped (can be omitted)
1 large onion
1/4 cup flour
water
salt
pepper
garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
olive oil
3-4 medium potatoes, chopped
1 tbs. sherry

Brown the onion, add garlic and bacon, cook 2-3-minutes. Add mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are reduced. Add flour, cook 1-minute. Cover with water, add salt, pepper, sherry and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Puree one cup in blender or food processor and then return to soup. Add heavy cream and re-heat the soup very carefully.