Potato Soup

It's chilly out today. Not as chilly as it is further north, but for coastal North Carolina it's on the chilly side. It reminds me of soup or chili weather. Yummm!! Nothing like a pot of soup or chili simmering on the stove for a few hours. I chose a simple one for today. Homemade Potato Soup. With some cornbread or biscuits on the side, yummy, yummy!!

Potato Soup

8 potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes, divided into half
2 ribs of celery, sliced
2 medium sized carrots, quartered and sliced
1 medium sized onion. diced
2 Bay leaves
1/8 Dried Thyme
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Water
Milk
Flour

Place half the potatoes, the celery, carrots, and onion in a large soup pot. Fill pan with water about 1 inch above the vegetables. Add 2 bay leaves and bring to a gently boil. Turn down and add thyme, sea salt and pepper. Let slowly cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Add additional water if necessary, but never more than what covers the vegetables as they cook.

In a separate pan cook the other half of the potatoes with a pinch of sea salt until fork tender. I cook these potatoes separate because in the cooking and thickening stage of the soup the potatoes get beat up and become small. This way, when the soup is the thickness I want it, I add the cooked potatoes and have big chunks to enjoy in the soup. If you don't care about little chunks of potato, skip this step and put all the potatoes in at the first step.

In a small bowl, put about 3/4 cup flour and add water to make a slurry. Bring soup back up to a boil and add about 2 cups of milk. When the soup is at a rolling boil, begin to slowly whisk in the flour slurry. As the soup thickens, be sure to lower the heat slightly so as not to scorch the bottom. Once the soup is at the desired thickness, reduce heat. This is where you add the potatoes that were cooked separately. Check the salt flavor of the soup. The addition of milk kills the saltiness, so a little more may be required. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and serve with a nice chunk of French bread.

Note: The starch content of potatoes designates how fast this soup will thicken. You may not use all the slurry mix or you may need to make a little more.

This is just a good old fashioned potato soup recipe. You can add things like bacon bits or cheddar cheese to give it some pop. The ideas are only limited by your imagination. :-)