Here's what I did: I searched out two NEW potato soup recipes (meaning recipes that I have not made before) and decided to test which potato soup was the winning-est (ie-the best tasting soup).
The first soup I chose was an adaptation of Potato and Leek Soup. I have made potato and leek soup many a time to great success, so I figured why not?
ROUND ONE: Rustic Potato and Leek Soup (from Love Soup by Anna Thomas)
This soup called for:
3-4 large leeks, green and white parts, chopped small
2 med-lrg Yukon Golds potatoes, diced with peels on
Eyeballing it:
Olive oil (2 turns round the pan)
Unsalted Butter (two good pats)
Sea Salt (to taste)
3 cups Vegetable broth (I used Rapunzel, unsalted bouillion cubes)
Parsley (cupped palmful)
Thyme(I used a cupped palmful of Penzey's French Thyme)
Lemon Juice (a few good squirts)
This process went very quickly because my mom helped. The leeks were super fragrant as we washed and chopped them (mom had the great idea of saving the scraps for broth, so we stuck those in a ziploc and I keep it in the freezer, adding to it each time I have scraps from soup-adventures) but it was nothing compared to the aroma that wafted about as we sauted them with the olive oil and the butter (and but a pinch of sea salt) in a small skillet until they were soft (10 minutes or so).We placed the leeks in a 6 qt stock pot with the potatoes, 3 cups of water and the vegetable broth until the potatoes were nice and tender (but not falling apart).
Then...the seasoning (always my favorite part). We added the parsley, french thyme, black pepper (because we think everything is better with black pepper) and some lemon juice.
THE RESULT:
Rating: Pretty good (but not amazing, I think this recipe could use some beefing up in terms of texture and taste, and the lemon, though I love it, was a bit distracting from the warmth of the potatoes).
Easy-o-meter: Very Easy
Time: 40 minutes, from wash to bowl.
Taste: VERY FRAGRANT in the nose but not so much on the tongue.
And now...
ROUND TWO: Mexican Potato Soup /Caldo de Papa (from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)
At first this soup scared me a bit; I've never cooked much with chiles but I've been using my soup making adventures as an excuse to get out of my comfort zone and experiment. As I was buying the ingredients, I got really excited about the new spices I was playing with and decided to double it! Let's see if that was a good idea...
This soup needed:
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced in 1/2 inch squares
2 1&1/4 lb cans of whole peeled tomatoes (a good compromise in winter months and cheaper!)
2 med. onions, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sq. inch of dried chili, coarsely chopped (I used an Ancho)
4 cups vegetable stock
Eyeballing it:
Sea Salt (to taste)
cilantro (open palmful)
Fage (to garnish)
home-made croutons (to garnish)
To get this soup going:
1) Chop the potatoes and boil them in water that covers them + 3 inches until they are tender but not crumbly and drain most of the water (I kept potatoey stock in the bottom of the pot).
2) Chop tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chili and put through immersion blender until smooth and fragrant. Add stock.
3) Add blended mixture (from #2) to potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
And to season....
Add salt, very generous helpings of black pepper and cilantro and just a dash of sugar (to warm the pot and bring the flavors together).
Serve with healthy dollops of Fage and croutons!
VOILA!
Notes:
Want more of a stoup (a stewy-soup)? Next time, use more potatoes and more concentrated stock for a thicker soup.
Chiles: The original recipe called for chipolte chiles but I had a hard time finding them at my local co-op. I chose the anchos because they were dried in bulk and I was allowed to fish out just one (which was all I needed) and call it a day. I used only a small section of the pepper and it really kicked in in the aftertaste. Very nice. Maybe next time I'll be more brave and use a bit more. If you're squeamish about handling hot peppers, you can always use cayenne powder, too.
Rating: Abso-freaking-lutely AWESOME
Easy-o-meter: 1.5 (wicked easy, with a chile!)
Time: 45 minutes
Taste: Hell-yeah it's great.
So, who won my great potato soup contest? It must be obvious. Mexican Potato! It is highly flavorful, warm and bright and as welcome as the Mexican sun in the cold North-Eastern Winter.
Why don't you try these recipes and see which you like best? And if you do, let me know about it!
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