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  • Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup

    1 vote
    Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup
    Servings: 10
    by MH
    8 recipes
    >
    I love the transition from summer to autumn and await it with great enthusiasm. Everything about autumn is inviting, from the clothes and holidays to the vast array of delicious foods that can be created. This is based on a traditional recipe idea with my own little touches to create a scrumptious and mouth-watering soup to be heartily enjoyed throughout the autumn and winter seasons or simply on a cold day. I dispensed with the heavy cream in the recipe, preferring to make it a bit healthier and instead used a base of water and skim milk, thickened with a roux. The result is a soup that is half way between a cream soup and traditional base soup. One can add additional seasonings, however I found that it was unnecessary.

    Ingredients

    • 4 red potatoes, chopped (should be the size of a regular med potato)
    • 1 leek, chopped (not finely)
    • 8 green onions, chopped
    • 6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (American-style bacon)
    • 4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
    • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 cup skim milk
    • 2 sprigs fresh lemon balm, finely chopped
    • 2 sprigs flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
    • For the Roux:*
    • 3 Tbs unsalted butter
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1/3 cup sour cream

    Directions

    1. Heat the 4 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat in a frying or saute pan.
    2. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning, pepper and salt into the oil and stir.
    3. Once heated, add the chopped leeks and green onions and coat with the oil; cook for approx 10 minutes until leeks begin to soften; stir to prevent sticking.
    4. Add the chopped potatoes to the leek mixture and again, stir to coat with the oil.
    5. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every few seconds to prevent sticking.
    6. In a crock pot or stock pot on the stove, add the water and milk.
    7. To make the roux: melt the 3 Tbs butter in a saucepan; add the flour slowly and using a whisk stir constantly until a 'paste' forms (this will be a very thick roux). Using a wooden spoon or spatula, add the sour cream to the roux and stir constantly while combining.
    8. Add the roux to the water mixture and mix very well with a whisk.
    9. Add the potato mixture, chopped bacon and fresh herbs to the water mixture and stir to mix ingredients together.
    10. If using a crock pot, cook on high heat for approx 2 1/2 hours or until the potatoes are done then lower heat to a warm setting until ready to serve.
    11. If using a stock pot on the stove, cook over med heat, checking after 2 1/2 hours and stir more often to prevent burning.
    12. *Note: Traditionally one would not add sour cream to roux, it would just be the flour and fat, however that was how I created this particular recipe. Roux is usually made with equal parts flour and fat, though most chefs will use what they need of each to reach the desired consistency for their recipe.

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