I should call this “potato-ish soup.” We have so many players here that it’s hard to give all the credit to the spuds. Potato soup makes you think potatoes are the dish’s star, and I’m not ready to make that declaration. However, this is the only potato soup I make, so that’s what it is.
This soup is very special to me. This is the first meal I made with my husband when we were dating. He saw that I had cooked him soup, and he adorably pretended to be excited about that. I later found out that when he saw it was soup, he thought he would hate it. He thought it would be another bland soup and would leave him hungry, and “what’s all that green stuff in my soup?!” It turns out he loves this potato soup and requests it often. He learned never to judge a book by its cover that day. I think this soup is what made him fall in love with me. The old adage is true, the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
This potato soup is also excellent the next day. The cream will separate from the broth, but it blends right back together with a quick stir.
Gratifying Potato Soup With Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
5 medium potatoes - washed
1 bunch kale - washed- 2 large leeks - washed
4 cloves garlic - minced
8 cups chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon)
1 pound bacon - thick-sliced
1 pound ground chicken (minced chicken)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
½ tablespoon thyme - dried
½ tablespoon oregano - dried- 1 tablespoon chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon) - granules
½ pint heavy cream (also called thickened cream)
Instructions
- Heat the dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Chop the bacon and add to a hot skillet.
- While bacon is cooking, slice unpeeled potatoes with mandoline (or slice thin with a knife) into a bowl of cold water. Make sure they are submerged in water and set aside.
- Using mandoline (or slicing thin with a knife), slice onion and leeks. Only slice the white and light green part of the leeks. Save the dark green ends to use when you are cooking broth or stock.
- When the bacon has crisped, remove it to a bowl. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat.
- Add chicken to a pot and sprinkle evenly with red pepper flakes.
- While the chicken is cooking, remove leaves from the kale stems. Tear leaves into bite-size pieces as you go. Discard kale stems ( they are bitter.)
- When sausage is done cooking, remove to bowl with bacon. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the soup is done.
- Add chicken stock, potatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, chicken bouillon granules, and spices to the dutch oven. On med-high heat, bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer covered for 20 to 30 minutes. Potatoes should be easy to cut with a spoon.
- When potatoes are cooked, I like to run a heavy spoon back and forth through the pot, roughly cutting onions and potatoes on the side of the pot.
- Add bacon to the pot to warm the trough.
- Remove from heat.
- Add kale to the pot. They will turn bright, beautiful green. Stir everything together.
- Stir in cream and serve immediately.
