My oldest memory might be the smell of potato soup wafting up to my room. It was one of the few things compelling enough to tear me away from playing Golden Sun when I was a kid. It’s a recipe born from a budget, as frugal as it is delicious. The ingredients are ubiquitous and inexpensive and it can be seasoned and built in a variety of ways.
Potato soup is not gourmet. At least, it shouldn’t be. It’s a hearty, life-affirming dish that’s meant to feed a crowd and freeze well for leftovers. Potato soup should be cooking at it’s most elemental. The flavor of this dish won’t come from piles of sour cream and bacon and cheese. It won’t be an artery-clogging mess. This is potato soup like mom made (updated for vegans). And like anything worth having in life, it’s good and good for you.
A brief note about portioning ingredients:
In almost every case, measuring the weight of your ingredients is preferable. Your measuring cups and spoons are meant for volumetric measurements. Use them for water, oil, things that pour. For most everything else, you want a kitchen scale. Why? Because if you measure out a Cup of flour and I measure out a Cup of flour, we will both end up with significantly different amounts of flour. Your prospects are even worse if you’re measuring something like chopped celery. The amount you end up with will be different every time based on the shape and size of the pieces you cut. Weighing ingredients creates less waste and makes you a more accurate, effective home cook.
I like this one because of the high weight limit and the low price point, but feel free to shop around.
Ingredient Overview
Vegetables
Most major regional cuisines have a basic aromatic combination that kicks off most dishes. For the french its mirepoix, which is equal parts carrot, onion, and celery cooked in butter. In Latin cuisine its sofrito, a mixture of garlic, onion, tomato, and bell pepper cooked in olive oil. An aromatic medley provides the base of flavor in your dish. You can use this basic formula to begin thousands of dishes. Just add a starch and a protein and you’re in the money.
In this case, I’m using onion, celery, and carrot.
Potatoes
The differences between varieties of potatoes are more than skin deep. Some potatoes are just better at achieving certain textures, flavors, and consistencies. I don’t need to go through the details because Mackenzie Stratton wrote a terrific piece for The Spruce Eats covering the differences between ten different types of potatoes.
For this recipe, I like Yukon Golds. However, if all you have on hand is red potatoes, you should still give this a shot. Your results will be different, not bad.
Spices
Soup, similar to chili, is a very forgiving thing to spice. You can add small amounts and taste as you go along. This is also a great way to get to know how spices and seasonings interact with each other.
For this soup, I’m using salt, black pepper, and cajun spice mix. I love cajun seasoning. It’s terrifically versatile and delicious in so many dishes. You can make your own, like in this recipe, or pick up some premixed. Making it yourself will be far cheaper, but you have to pick your battles.
If you have some on hand, consider using a few splashes of Liquid Smoke in this recipe. You could also use bacon, I guess. But it’s expensive and dumb, so I skip it. Oh, and garlic because garlic goes in everything.
Methodology
Prep these ingredients:
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (roughly 400g), chopped into small cubes (smaller cubes cook faster)
3 Cups vegetable broth (you may need to add more depending on desired consistency)
60g diced onion
60g diced celery
60g diced carrot
2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
Up to 1 Cup milk (dodge the fat and grab some plant milk)
1 & 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt, pepper, cajun seasoning (I’m not mandating exact amounts, you should learn to taste and adjust as you cook)
Heat canola oil in a large, wide pot or dutch oven.
Add onion, celery, and carrot to the hot oil and stir to coat the veggies in oil. Cook for several minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add garlic, stir and cook briefly (30 seconds) until its fragrant.
Add in your potatoes and vegetable broth and bring the soup to a low boil. The amount of time it takes to cook your potatoes will depend on how small you cubed them. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and then try to mash a piece of potato with a fork. If it crushes easily, you’re good to go. If your potatoes are still too firm, keep simmering and check every 3-5 minutes.
Once the potatoes are cooked, begin adding your seasonings. Start small, incorporate, then taste. This is a vital component of learning to cook. Sometimes you won’t have the right spices, or you’ll add too much, or the recipe you followed tastes awful. Taste your food when you add something to it. This is basically the number one thing that Gordon Ramsey screams at Americans about.
When it tastes right, use a potato masher (or a ladle, large spoon, or fist) to mash up some of the potatoes. I personally like creamy potato soup, so I blend large portions of my soup and add it back to the pot. If you go that route, use an immersion blender or blend small amounts to avoid a hot soup explosion.
When you’ve achieved the perfect consistency and flavor like the culinary god that you are, turn off the heat. Finally, add in milk 1/4 cup at a time until the soup is as creamy as you want it.
Serve it hot and add any toppings you like. It’s potato soup, you literally can’t ruin it.
I prefer:
Breadcrumbs
Bacon bits
Green onion
Freshly cracked black pepper
Crushed cashews
Fried shallots
Nutritional yeast
First time, long time
What are you spending the most on at the grocery store? Do you have a favorite dish that you can’t afford to make? Leave a comment below or send me an email at foodbankmailbag@gmail.com and I’ll use your responses for an upcoming newsletter!
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This looks great we will have to give it a shot, and that's a very good tip on weighing vs. measuring cups. Makes a lot of sense but is usually overlooked.