Potato Soup

In my previous post, I demonstrated how to make julienne potatoes. The problem with julienne potatoes is that they leave a lot of excess potato, and there's no sense letting it go to waste, right? Rather than toss it out, I put the excess potato to good use in a creamy, cheesy, potato soup. It was my first time making soup from scratch, and it's not an especially difficult recipe either, so follow along and you'll have yourself some delicious soup in no time.


Recipe adapted from The Royal Cook

Difficulty: Moderate
Active Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Prep Time: About 1 hour
Special Equipment: None
Serves: 8 - 10

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup flour
• 7 cups milk
• 4 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 1/2 shallots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. Put potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

2. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. When it's completely melted, add the flour and stir to form a white roux (thickening agent). Stir frequently to prevent the roux from burning.

3. Slowly add milk one cup at a time, stirring frequently. Mixture should start to thicken.

4. Add potatoes, shallots, garlic, cheese, salt, and pepper. Cook until the cheese has melted completely.

5. Mix in sour cream about 5 minutes before serving, then serve hot.

Additional Notes:

The original recipe called for chopped bacon, but in order to accommodate my vegetarian brother, I left the bacon out. Should you decide to add it, here's how: simply fry up about a pound bacon as normal until it's crispy and set aside. Then, instead of using butter to make the roux, use the bacon grease. Finally, add the bacon back in when you add the potatoes.