My mother made Potato Soup.
This is not her recipe – if she had one. I was never happy when I got home from my newspaper route (I was the town paperboy) and saw potato soup simmering on the stove.
She usually made it during Lent and almost always made it without meat (no bacon!) but with lots of celery.
It tasted like celery soup – without bacon.
These soups need bacon or ham.
If this were made in Europe it would be puréed.
I leave it chunky – American-style.
As to the ingredients – there are as many variations as there are cooks. Some thicken it with flour; some like it thick, some thin; some use heavy cream, others don’t; some use carrots, some wouldn’t think of it. My mother only used potatoes, celery, and onion.
It’s soup = it’s flexible.
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This is a ‘quick and easy’ soup, made with veggies we usually have on hand.
I used a thick slab of dry-cured, country ham but bacon may be easier to get.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped
- 4 medium carrots, trimmed, roughly chopped
- 3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped (or 1 large)
- 1 tbs butter
- 6oz (180gr) ham, preferably dry-cured, such as Prosciutto, cut into small pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
- 4 cups (32oz, 960ml) water
- 2 cups (16oz, 480ml) milk less 6 tbs for thickening
- 3 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved into 6 tbs milk
Instructions
- Melt butter in small soup pot or large saucepan.
- Add onion and sauté until it starts to get tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add celery and sauté 5 minutes longer.
- Add ham and sauté briefly.
- Add carrots, potatoes, herbs and water.
- Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 30 – 40 minutes.
- To finish: remove bay leaves.
- Increase heat and add cornstarch mixture, stirring until thickened
- Add remaining milk and heat through. Serve.
Notes
Substitute regular ham or bacon for the dry-cured ham – or use a ham bone.
You could thicken it with heavy cream rather than cornstarch. And / or use cream in place of the milk.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 401
- Sugar: 14.3 g
- Sodium: 256.4 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 57 g
- Fiber: 8.9 g
- Protein: 21.8 g
- Cholesterol: 57.4 mg
For something a bit spicier (also my recipe…) Goulash Soup
I just ate the last Christmas cookie.
I had to hide it.
Christmas is all packed away.
Except for the placemats and napkins that require ironing.
I doubt very much that I will actually iron them, but they’ll sit on the bed in the guest room for a few weeks until I admit procrastination won again, and put them away.
Next December I’ll take them out, decide that they really look fine and start using them as is.
I’m a great believer in avoiding any and all unnecessary domestic chores.
I’m starting to believe that most (not all) domestic chores are unnecessary.
You sound exactly like me with the napkins! I do the same thing except mine sit on the dining room table since we only use it when company comes and we don’t have company in January so they can sit for several weeks before I just end up folding them and putting them away. 🙂
You don’t use chicken broth in your soup? I’m making potato soup tonight, but will use bacon because I’m out of ham. I used the last of what I had frozen last month. I need to get another little one this week. I could always use Spam though. I love Spam. I know not everyone does, but it’s always been a favorite for me.
I would use chicken broth if I was using bacon, but the ham has tons of flavor.
I love Spam – a Spam and Miracle Whip sandwich…. lol