Saturday, October 17, 2009

Potato Soup

Today was the first significant cold front of the season. The gray skies smothered the region and stepping outside causes that instant shiver. There are freeze warnings out....

...and predictably, the brand new furnace that we had installed last winter didn't work when we turned it on today.

I needed simple comfort food and homemade potato soup sounded like a great option.


Greg of SippitySup had a nice potato and leek soup, but I had no leeks. I suppose I could have asked a neighbor if I could take a leek in their kitchen, but that didn't sound too good, so I just winged it. (The past tense of wing isn't wung, is it?)


My Potato Soup

Ingredients
1 ea Yellow onion peeled and diced
1 ea Carrot peeled and diced
1 stalk Celery finely diced
3 tablespoon Butter
6 ea Potato peeled and cut into 1" cubes
6 cups Chicken broth
1 teaspoon Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Sage
1/2 teaspoon Basil
1 teaspoon Black pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 cups Half-and-half cream
2 tablespoon Parsley fresh, chopped


Instructions

Melt the butter in a stock pot and saute the carrots, celery, and onion for about 8 minutes, until the mirepoix is tender.

Add the broth and potatoes then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Removed from heat and stir in the half and half cream.

Garnish with parsley and some home made garlic pepper croutons
.

Ahhh, yes, this hit the spot, warming the body and soul!

Potatoes, Goodness Unearthed

(You know the peanut people are kicking themselves for not coming up with that slogan.)
We do eat a lot of potatoes at our house. They store well compared to other forms of produce, they stretch your food budget dollar, and they just taste good!


But I did learn a thing or two browsing the
U.S. Potato Board's website. I didn't realize that potatoes are as nutritious as they are. To be honest, I thought they were empty calories. I'm Full of It
Another thing I learned was about the satiety of food, which is the "psychological and physiological feeling of fullness". I always perceived that some foods left me feeling fuller than others but didn't know there was a term for it.

According to that article foods that were high in fiber and moisture content had higher satiety index ratings (or leave you feeling more full). In addition to potatoes, other items were fish, oat porridge, apples, oranges, steaks, baked beans, and wheat pasta. I guess Chinese take out has a satiety index of 0.


Anyway, you might want to check their website out the next time you have a tuber conundrum. They have a library of potato recipes and a wealth of information about nutrition, care, and preparation of potatoes.