Tuscan Style Potato Soup

I like soup any time of the year. Especially when I can use locally grown produce from our CSA. This soup is the perfect comfort food, and is full of healthy fats. Our toddler loves it. But he pretty much loves any soup. He must have a thing for bone broth, which is a key ingredient in all the soups I make. (And it's no wonder! Broth is an excellent food for babies and toddlers!)

So on to the recipe. Eat it up and don't feel one bit guilty about the butter and cream and cheese and bacon. Your body needs saturated fat!

Tuscan Style Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4 T. butter

5 mini onions (bulbs and tops) or one large onion

3 cloves garlic

1 t. salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 lb. potatoes, cubed (peeled or not, according to preference)

4 c. chicken broth

1/4-1/2 lb. nitrate-free bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. sour cream (additive-free) or plain yogurt

1 c. grated sharp cheddar

a fistful of fresh parsley, chopped

(optional: a few leaves of kale or swiss chard)

Method:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes, until beginning to soften. Add minced garlic and cook a couple minutes longer. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. Puree all but one cup or so of the mixture in the pot.*

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine over low heat. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

If desired, you can add a few leaves of kale or swiss chard to this soup. Chop and add after pureeing the potato mixture, along with the other ingredients. Cook about 10 minutes or until tender. If you want to retain the probiotic qualities of the sour cream or yogurt, add that at the very end.

*A note on pureeing the soup:

The easiest way to do this is with an immersion blender, apparently. Simply set aside one cup of the potato mixture, puree the rest, and add the cup back in. If you do not have an immersion blender (I'm with you), puree in batches in a regular blender, putting the blended soup into another bowl as you go. Leave a cup of the potato mixture un-pureed in the pot, and then pour the pureed soup back in. And then wash the mound of dishes you just created, and tell your husband you want an immersion blender for your birthday, which is coming up in three days. ;)

This is part of Fight Back Friday, Friday Potluck, Food Trip Friday, I'm Lovin' It Friday, and Weekend Gourmet.

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