The "L" Word

What’s for dinner? How many times have you heard that question? With work, household errands and family commitments, there is little time to prepare a healthy meal every night.  

In my house, I make two to three big meals a week.  In my meal prep, I try to make extra items that I know will work in other meals.  This is not “leftovers,” since I’m planning ahead.  I like to think of it as menu re-tasking. 

For example, potatoes provide some of the easiest, most economical opportunities to re-task menu items.  If you are baking potatoes as a side item for a big dinner, bake 3 extra to use the next day in an amazing potato soup. 

Most ‘baked potatoes’ are the Russet variety.  These brown skinned potatoes are creamy and tasty, but not too starchy or heavy.  I received several requests for this recipe after preparing it for a recent charity event.  It is a crowd-pleaser and extremely easy on the budget.  Amounts shown will serve three people as a main course soup or four as a side. 

You’ll need:

A large stock pot

Immersion blender or regular blender 

Ingredients:

3 previously baked potatoes diced into large chunks leaving some peel

1 small onion, diced OR 2 medium leeks (dice only the white portion after thoroughly rinsing)

2 C 2 percent or whole milk

1 celery stalk, diced

1T garlic

2 T butter

4 oz. water

Garnishes: real bacon bits, sour cream, shredded cheese and/or chopped chives 

Preparation:

Melt butter in stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic, diced celery and onion (or leeks). Sweat (or sauté) the vegetables for about 1 minute until they are translucent. 

Add 4 oz. water and diced baked potatoes. Increase heat. Boil (to 212 degrees) until most of the water is gone and potatoes have softened and broken down. The potatoes should be almost completely dissolved in the remaining water so that as you add the milk (next), the starch in the dissolved potatoes will strengthen the milk, causing the milk NOT to separate.

Add 2 cups of milk and reduce heat to medium. Allow to simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and add salt, cracked black pepper or a season all spice blend as needed. 

Now, blend the soup to give it a smooth body and help with thickening.  If you have an immersion blender, put it in the stock pot and, using slow, small circles, blend until it is mostly smooth, about 3 minutes. I leave a few potato chunks to enhance the overall texture experience. 

If you are using a regular blender, exercise extreme caution. Only fill your blender half full to prevent a splash of your HOT soup burning you during this step. Blend on pulse 30 seconds to 1 minute.

After blending, taste again and add seasonings if needed.  You can adjust the thickness of your soup with more milk, water or a few pats of butter to add richness. 

Garnish with grated cheese, chives, real bacon bits and/or sour cream. Anything you would add to a baked potato would taste great with this soup. Enjoy!

Chef Zachary Pope is an award-winning chef and owner of Roundz Catering.  He and his family live in Crofton.