Gan's potato soup - garnished with fresh chives and caraway seeds.
Silky, salty sour cream and potatoes are a classic combination. You probably think of baked potatoes topped with a white dollop of rich, thick cream, or perhaps classic chips and dip. When you transform the ingredients into a soup, you get spoonful after spoonful of that slightly tangy-salty flavor with the satisfying bite of a starchy potato.
This is one of those recipes handed down for at least four generations now in my family. It all started waaaaay back in Hungary when probably my great-great grandmother, if not generations further back, made the most out of what they had, and stretched it to feed their families. It's so simple and savory that even in times like these when food is more than abundant, you can't help but serve up a bowl with a side of bread for a meal that hits the spot.
My "Gan", or my grandma, had this recipe in her repertoire. I remember her teaching me how to make it, step by step - a pinch of this, and eyeballing ingredients until they "looked right". I never wrote it down until now. But! I'm glad I am - because I want at least four more generations to carry on the tradition of her potato soup.
Printer Friendly Version:
| simple_potato_soup.docx |
Select 3 - 4 large baking potatoes and peel them.
Ingredients:
3-4 large baking potatoes
1 16oz. container sour cream (NO light/diet versions here! You don't want to skimp on flavor! I prefer to use Breakstone's Sour Cream.)
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
chopped chives (optional)
Peel the potatoes.
|
Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces, approximately 1 inch "cubes". They're not really "cubes" but you get the idea! :)
|
1. Peel the potatoes.
2. Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces, approximately 1 inch "cubes". They're not really "cubes", but that's ok! The imperfection of the soup is what makes it so authentically homemade!
Place the chopped potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with about 3 inches of water. It's ok if the water looks starchy! No worries!
3. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with about 3 inches of water. (It's ok if the water looks starchy! No worries!) Add a pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork tender. As the potatoes boil, you'll see a starchy foam come to the top of the pot. You can just skim it off with a spoon and discard it.
Mix the 3 Tbsp. flour and just enough water in a separate bowl to form a liquid that's slightly thicker than milk.
4. While your potatoes are cooking, in a separate bowl, mix the 3 Tbsp. flour with enough water so it's a little thicker than milk. (This will thicken your soup.) Mix until it's smooth.
I prefer to use Breakstone's Sour Cream. If you skimp here and try to use a light version of sour cream, I won't be held responsible for your disaster! We're going for a rich and creamy soup here - nothing watered down!
Add the entire container of sour cream to the flour-water mixture.
|
Mix the sour cream and flour-water mixture until it's well-blended, smooth, and glossy.
|
5. Add the entire container of sour cream to the flour-water mixture.
6. Mix the sour cream and flour-water mixture until it's well-blended and smooth.
Add the sour cream mixture to the pot that the potatoes are in, when the potatoes are fully cooked.
7. When the potatoes are fork-tender, add the sour cream mixture to the pot and stir. Lower the heat to medium. Stir occasionally until the sour cream mixture assimilates with the water to form a soup.
8. Add 1 tsp. of vinegar. Stir.
9. When the soup comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
Chives are easy to grow - even if you only have a window box! :) Snip some off, and they will grow back in a few weeks for continual harvest!
10. The garnishes are optional, but boy, they make your soup look appetizing! Snip some chives into small bits and place aside.
11. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with a sprinkle of chives and some caraway seeds.
The chives and caraway seeds are optional. My grandmother only garnished the soup with some caraway seeds, which is just fine. Or you can do a just chives version, too. Or be a plain Jane and go garnish free!
Special Notes:
This will easily serve four people and can suffice as a main meal if you pair some good bread with it on the side.
Leftover soup can be stored in containers in the refrigerator for 4 - 5 days.
RSS Feed
