Potato Herb Soup with Cheese and Bacon
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb frozen potato cubes
- 1 stick salted butter, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white onions, minced
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon chicken base
- 2 cups half & half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Water, as desired
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
- Optional: cheese and bacon for a loaded potato soup
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the frozen potato cubes until soft enough to squeeze by hand, about 10 minutes.
- Use a potato masher to mash the potato cubes, leaving some of the potatoes chunky. Set aside.
- In a large soup pot, melt ¼ cup butter and add the flour, stirring constantly.
- Cook the mixture until the flour is almost golden in color. (This would be considered a blonde roux.) Turn the heat down to low and stir occasionally.
- Melt the remaining ¼ cup butter in a separate saute pan.
- Add the onions, white pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, and parsley and cook until the onions are translucent.
- While the onions cook, whisk the chicken base and the half & half together in a large liquid measuring cup.
- Stir the half & half mixture and the heavy cream into the roux.
- Once cooked, add the onion mixture to the stock pot and stir well.
- Add the partially mashed potatoes to the stock pot.
- Cook, covered, on low heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently, or use a double boiler to prevent the soup from scalding on the bottom of the pan.
- Add water to thin the soup to the desired consistency.
- Garnish with parsley, bacon, and cheese.