Max Comfort Food: Herbed Potato Soup

Sundays are great for comfort food and it's been cold and snowy and I had some kind of bug last week. Covid-19 test was negative happy to say.

As a cancer survivor (I still feel odd saying that, since I was caught early and didn't have it that rough) I was urged to move to a vegetarian diet, which I find hard to stick to for more than a few days. Some advice I've seen even suggested vegan, but while I can do that for a meal or two, it's not a lifestyle for me.

The potato soup recipe I found on the Dana Farber site is the basis for this--heavy on the vegetable broth, light on the cream, but my full ingredient list went like this: (you will need a blender)

• 4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, no bigger than an inch
• 3 leeks, washed, cut in half lengthwise, washed again, sliced, then rinsed one more damn time
• 1 baseball-sized onion, chopped 
• 1 large shallot, chopped 
• 1 bulb of garlic, roasted (don't have time to roast? I would guess 5-7 cloves if you consider garlic  a vegetable or 3-4 if you consider garlic a condiment)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (low sodium if you wish)
• 2 cups chicken broth (low sodium if you wish)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 heaping Tablespoon of Herbs de Provence (no I didn't blend my own, but I likely will at some point)
• 1/4 Cup cream
• 1/4 Cup milk

Optional garnishes:

• Chopped cooked bacon 
• Chopped green onions
• Sour cream
• Shredded mild cheese. I used a Gouda.

Heat the olive oil in your stew pot on medium high heat until a drop of water spatters when you toss it in. Add your onions, leeks, and shallot (plus the garlic if you're cooking it from raw). Stir frequently until the onions are translucent. Add the salt and the Herbs de Provence, stir some more until the herbs are evenly distributed to your eyes.

Add your broth, roasted garlic if you're using, and your potatoes. Stir well, then add the pepper because you forgot it earlier (it can go in with the other spices). Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-high so it's still bubbling, but the bubbles are small. If the bubbles are bigger than an American dime, turn the heat down. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. In between stirring, clean the counter, and prep your garnishes. 

After the 30 minutes is up, check to ensure your potatoes are soft. 

Now the fun stuff. How do you like potato soup? Smooth and creamy? Chunky? I like mine mostly smooth with all the aromatics blended in, but with a few chunks of potato found here and there.

I use a stick blender, but a conventional blender works fine as long as you're blending in small doses, say a Cup (8 oz) at a time. If you like it chunky, just blend half. Ladle into bowls, garnish as you wish. I also topped mine with some additional black pepper for the picture. 

The recipe can easily be adjusted for vegetarians or vegans. All vegetable, various substitutes for sour cream and cheese. The Dana Farber site had coconut milk as an option.

I also had some rosemary crackers on the side while I ate. Decidedly comforting, very tasty, and flexible. Color me pleased.

Questions? Comments? Happy to hear them. See you soon!