Not My Mother's Potato Soup

Not My Mother's Potato Soup

September 14th, 12:06

Current Mood:

creative

I have a special relationship with potato soup. It was homemade potato soup that gave me the stamina to survive 44 hours of childbirth labor. My mother had made a wonderful batch of potato soup the day we awaited my son's arrival. Potato soup was all I could stomach and keep down. Potato soup is comfort to me. I enjoy my mother's potato soup immensely, however I decided to make a version that would speak to who I was.

I found a recipe through Pinterest for Garlic Potato soup that inspired me. It gave me the opportunity to use fresh potatoes harvested from my garden and garlic we had grown ourselves.

I did not discover the taste of garlic until I left my mother's nest. My mom doesn't like it so she never used it preparing our meals. As a bird out on my own, my first slice of garlic toast I was smitten with it. I've cooked with garlic and eventually found myself eating it raw for the health benefits. I can't imagine my life without garlic.

I was excited to grow it in my garden. I grew several varieties including elephant garlic which I decided to try in this recipe. Elephant garlic is not quite as strong and sharp, it's more sweet. It ended up working in this soup nicely. Elephant garlic is huge. One clove is the size of a small bulb of regular garlic.

The potatoes I grew were white, with thin tender skins. I decided to leave the skins on for added nutrition and they cooked up very well. The soup's texture is creamy without having to add cream.

I started with homemade turkey stock. I finely diced the veggies and threw them in. I brought the soup to a boil and cooked with the lid on for 15 minutes. Once the veggies were tender, I removed the bouquet garni and  reduced the heat. Using an immersion blender, I blended just a bit, still leaving a few good chunky bits because that's how I like it. I seasoned with a bit of pepper, another ingredient my mother has an aversion to. I felt the soup didn't need salt, but that's my taste buds. After giving up salt for health reasons, I can taste more flavors from the veggies.

- 1 quart of turkey stock, (add additional water if needed to cover veggie and potatoes)
-4 carrots, diced
-2 celery ribs, diced
-1 large onion, diced
-2 gloves of elephant garlic, diced (If using regular garlic, use more than 2. Elephant garlic is much larger.)
-about 8 potatoes, chopped
1 bouquet garni - these are little bundles of spices you bundle together in cheesecloth to flavor soups. My mom makes and gives these as gifts.
- Pepper to taste

I'm planning on putting away more homemade soups so I have something to reach for on those busy nights when I get home from work.