Cream of Potato Soup

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special

Serves 6-8

Printable recipe here: click

1 1/2 cups diced onions

1 1/2 cups diced celery

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp canola, olive oil, or butter

3-4 cups cubed potatoes

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 tsp dried dill

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

In a large pot, heat the oil (or butter) over medium-high heat and add onions, celery, garlic, and salt. Saute until celery is just tender--about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, stock, and dill. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft--10 minutes or so. Stir in milk. Using either a food processor or hand blender, puree about half of the soup. Add cheese and stir until melted and evenly distributed. Serve hot with a side of steamed vegetables.

----------

This recipe should be subtitled "How to Use the Rest of a Bag of Potatoes". I used russets, but any potato would work. You don't have to peel the potatoes. I peeled the russets out of habit, but would have left the peel on Yukon Golds or reds. Using veggie stock will make it a vegetarian soup (durh). Add a little more nutritional yeast if you're skipping the cheese and you'll still get a cheesy flavor out of the soup. And speaking of cheese...I used sharp cheddar, but it's great with pepper jack (add a chili to the onion and celery for an extra kick). Any cheese that melts well will do.

The steamed vegetables were a bit of an epiphany. With no lettuce in the fridge and a very strong desire to contain the meal in a single bowl, we steamed up some broccoli and a new tradition was born. Gone are the days of the cliched soup and salad! Any steamed vegetable would be great with this soup, so grab your favorite and join the We've Had Plenty of Green Salads Thankyouverymuch Club.