Rustic Potato Soup Part Deux Recipes

RUSTIC POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Bring broth, potatoes, and bay leaf to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes). Discard bay leaf. Using potato masher, coarsely break up potatoes, leaving large chunks.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook kielbasa, stirring frequently, until lightly browned in spots (about 4 minutes). Add leeks and cook until soft (about 4 minutes).
• Add potato mixture and kale to Dutch oven and simmer until kale is tender (about 5 minutes). Season with pepper and serve.

RUSTIC POTATO SOUP WITH CHEDDAR AND GREEN ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven. Meanwhile, cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Add potatoes to boiling water; return to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.
• Drain potatoes well; reserve 2 cups potatoes. Place remaining potatoes (about 3 cups) in blender. Add 1 cup of the milk; cover and blend until smooth, adding additional milk if necessary. Return blended mixture to Dutch oven.
• Add reserved 2 cups potatoes, remaining 1 cup milk, the margarine, salt, pepper, 3/4 cup of the onions and 3/4 cup of the cheese to saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soup is hot and cheese is melted.
• To serve, spoon soup into 4 individual soup bowls. Top each with 1 tablespoon each of the remaining onions and cheese.

RUSTIC POTATO SOUP PART DEUX

Steps:

• Brown sausages in oil in large soup pot. Remove sausages and set aside, add butter to the pot, then onion and fresh thyme. Sauté onions until slightly browned. While they are sautéing, cut the cooked sausages into pieces. When onions are ready, add chicken broth, sausages and potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft when forked. (You may want to add a little water now and again while they boil, as the potatoes will tend to absorb some of the liquid.) Once the potatoes are cooked, strain the liquid into a separate bowl. Remove the thyme stems from the solids, and then put approximately half of the potatoes into the blender with all of the liquid. Purée the potatoes and broth, and then add back to the original soup pot and reheat. Add cream to the purée and stir to combine. Add back the remaining potatoes to the soup pot and use a potato masher to break down the pieces. (Don't mash too much, you want to preserve a somewhat lumpy texture - this is RUSTIC remember, and to me that means lumpy.) Add back the sausages and bring soup to a boil. Add fresh ground pepper, to taste. Serve piping hot with rustic (oddly, NOT lumpy in this case) country bread. This can serve 4 people (or just me and Al, as we usually eat the whole pot). P.S -- If you want the recipe with the leeks, kale and bay leaf - tant pis - I think I found it in Cook's Illustrated.