Creamy Potato Soup

The key to this soup is two separate batches of roux. The first will adapt to the flavor profile of the herbs and vegetables and the second will actually be turned into a bastardized bechamel and gives it the creamy texture. This soup is also vegetarian-friendly.

Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients

9 Russet potatoes
1 large carrot, diced
1 large white onion, diced
3 ribs of celery with leaves, roughly chopped
8 cloves of garlic, minced
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 small bunch of Italian parsley
6 cups chicken stock
3 + 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 + 4 tablespoons AP flour
2 cups cream or whole milk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Heat oil in medium stock pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic, stirring frequently.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper to help break down the vegetables. Cut the leaves off the parsley and chop finely. Remove leaves from thyme sprigs and add to parsley.

Add parsley and thyme to vegetables once onions are translucent.

Cut the potatoes into a large dice. The link below is a quick tutorial of how to easily cut the potatoes without peeling them.

Large dice a potato

Add potatoes to pot and reduce heat to low.

In a small saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Reduce to medium-low and whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour. Continuously stir until the mixture is a light brown.

Add in 1/2 cup of chicken stock to roux and stir until thickened. In the meantime increase heat of stock pot to high and add the rest of the chicken stock. Once the roux and chicken stock has thickened, add to stock pot and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil and loosely cover. Stir frequently and cook for 13-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the soup is boiling, make your second roux. Add 4 tablespoons of butter to saucepan and heat over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in 4 tablespoons of flour. Cook and whisk constantly until you get the same color as the first roux. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of cream or whole milk and continue to whisk until potatoes are fork tender.

Reduce heat of soup to medium-low and slowly whisk in the cream/milk mixture. Stir constantly until thicken and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

You can garnish with sliced green onion and shredded cheddar cheese if you like. If you are of the meat eating variety, you can add some crispy, crumbled bacon as well. This also goes well with a good loaf of Italian bread.

If you are saving this for later, pour into a casserole dish so that it cools faster before covering securely and placing in the fridge. I would not recommend freezing this soup as it will destroy the texture of the potatoes and the cream may separate upon thawing and reheating.

If you have any questions, comment, or concerns, do not hesitate to voice them.

Enjoy.