Potato Chowder
Potatoes are simmered with cheese, bacon and onions—it's like a twice-baked potato in your soup bowl!
- 4 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup celery, diced
- 1 lb red-skin potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup Havarti cheese with caraway seeds, coarsely grated
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped, for garnish
Sauteé bacon in a large, heavy pot set over medium heat until browned and crisp, for 3-4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour out and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon drippings.
Add onion and celery to the bacon drippings in the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, for 4-5 minutes.
Add diced potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add chicken stock and milk to pot and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook soup at a simmer until the potatoes are tender, for 10-15 minutes. Do not let soup come to a boil.
Add the cheese, a little at a time, to the hot soup, stirring until melted after each addition.
In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour with a fork to make a paste. Whisk this mixture into the soup, a little at a time, and cook until completely blended, for 1-2 minutes.
Taste soup and season with salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed.
To serve, ladle soup into 4 bowls and sprinkle each serving with chopped bacon and chives.
Provided byBetty Rosbottom & Charles Schiller
Author ofSunday Soup
© Betty Rosbottom & Charles Schiller 2008
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