Pams Potato Soup Recipes

LOADED POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Place sliced potatoes into a stockpot and completely cover with 1" of water. Season with ½ tsp salt and cook 8-10 minutes or until potatoes pierce easily with a knife then drain.
• Meanwhile, saute bacon in a dutch oven until crispy then transfer to a plate, reserving 1 Tbsp bacon grease in the pot.
• Add 4 Tbsp butter and chopped onions then sautee until tender. Add garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
• Quickly whisk in the flour. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups milk and 2 1/2 cups broth, whisking constantly then bring to a soft boil.
• Add drained potatoes and season soup with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or season to taste.
• Stir in 3/4 cup sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheddar, and half half of your cooked bacon (reserving the rest for serving). Bring to a boil then remove from heat and serve with your favorite toppings.

CREAMY SWEET POTATO WITH GINGER SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep saute pan until shimmering.
• Add sweet potatoes, then onion; saute, stirring very little at first, then more frequently, until vegetables start to turn golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and add butter, sugar and garlic; continue cooking until all vegetables are a rich spotty caramel color, about 10 minutes longer.
• Add ginger, nutmeg and cayenne pepper; continue to saute until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.
• Add broth; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender or traditional blender, puree until very smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. (If using a traditional blender, vent it either by removing the lid's pop-out center or by lifting one edge of the lid. Drape the blender canister with a kitchen towel. To 'clean' the canister, pour in a little half-and-half, blend briefly, then add to the soup.)
• Return to pan (or a soup pot); add enough half-and-half so the mixture is souplike, yet thick enough to float garnish. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Heat through, ladle into bowls, garnish and serve.

PAM'S POTATO AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• 1. If you want to use the optional bacon, start by frying the bacon bits in a large stockpot until crisp. Remove bacon bits and reserve. (If there is more than a few tablespoons of bacon grease, drain some off.) Saute the leeks and celery in the bacon grease until soft and translucent. If you prefer to make the soup without bacon, simply saute the vegetables in a combination of butter and oil (about 2 Tbsp each) until soft.
• 2. Add the cubed potatoes, broth and just enough water to cover the potatoes. (Sometimes I add a tiny bit of turmeric, a couple of pinches or so, to the pot to enhance the buttery golden color) Bring to a boil and then turn to medium and cook until potatoes are tender. Partially mash some of the potatoes and set the pot aside to make the roux in the microwave.
• 3. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Microwave for another minute, stirring half way through to cook out the raw taste.
• 4. Add the milk to the stockpot and heat through. Stir in the roux vigorously and bring back to a low boil to thicken. Add the cream and stir. If the soup is too thin, you can either make a little more roux, or add some instant potato flakes or mash the potato chunks a little more to thicken. If too thick, add some more milk or even chicken broth.
• 5. Let the soup simmer on very low temp, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning, for 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Because the bacon and the chicken broth both have salt, you will need to determine how much to add for your preference. I use quite a bit because the potatoes really take up a lot of salt.
• 6. Return the bacon to the stockpot or use it as a garnish on bowls of the soup. You can also garnish with some fresh chopped chives or some green onion tops finely chopped, or the ultimate in decadence, with a little dab of butter that melts in the center of the bowl.

PAM'S SWEET POTATO AND PEANUT BISQUE

Steps:

• 1. Prick sweet potatoes in several places with a fork. Microwave on High until just cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Alternative is to bake in oven, but Microwave is faster.
• 2. Heat butter or oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it just begins to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic stirring, for 1 minute more. Careful not to burn the garlic. Stir in V8, green chiles, ginger and allspice. (If you use pepper flakes, I would add them here.) Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers, cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
• 3. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. Add half to the pot along with broth, peanut butter, sugar and hot sauce (if desired). Puree until completely smooth with an immersion blender. (Alternatively, process in food processor or blender in batches and return puree to pot.)
• 4. Add the rest of the chopped potato pieces to the pot and stir well to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste. Thin the bisque with water or broth, if needed. Season with pepper. Heat until hot. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro or scallions, if desired.
• 5. Note: I also used a tiny squeeze of fresh lemon juice to my bowl and it really brightened the flavors.

CHEF JOHN'S HAM AND POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a stockpot over medium heat until golden brown. Stir in carrot, celery, onion, ham, and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes, until the vegetables soften and the onions are translucent.
• Stir in flour; cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, 1 cup at a time. Add water and stir to combine. Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Taste the soup for salt and add more if necessary. Stir in potatoes; cook for 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Skim fat if desired.
• With a potato masher, mash the soup a few times, leaving plenty of whole chunks of potato. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add cayenne if desired, and add cream. Stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with fresh chives.

DELICIOUS HAM AND POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
• In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

ABSOLUTELY ULTIMATE POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.
• Cook celery and onion in reserved bacon drippings until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add cubed potatoes, and toss to coat. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Return bacon to the pan, and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender.
• In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream, tarragon, and cilantro. Bring the cream mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup, and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.

PAM'S POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Chop onion up finely and put in large pan. Add stick of butter and turn the pan on simmer. Let butter slowly melt and the onions are sweetened and softened by the slow basting of butter.
• Peel the potatoes and chop up. I like to vary the size of the cubed potatoes so that some potatoes sort of dissolve while other potatoes stay in chunks. Add potatoes to onion and butter in pan. Add chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Finish filling the pan to just above the potatoes with water. Salt and pepper the potatoes.
• Cook potatoes on medium heat for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are softened. Add can of carnation milk and the Velveeta Cheese. Stir until Velveeta Cheese is melted.