French Potato Soup

Course:

Appetizer

Practical information

Prep time

20 min
Cooking

2 h
Ready in

2 h 20

Difficulty
Price

Recipe
Comments (0)

I rarely post a recipe that is not my own, but this one comes from an aged Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery. It will "stick to your ribs" and dispel the cold of winter, even in frigid New York! (Doubtless you know that Parmentier was the French agronomist who popularized the potato in France.)Now, one more time, when I say potatoes, I mean real potatoes such as the Maine kennebec or the Irish cobbler, and not those russet things.The following will feed six. Double it if you feed a "tribe." Moreover, you will note that this is not for you if you are on a low fat diet!

Recipe's Ingredients

2 leeks, peeled down to the "good" and well-washed and cut thinly
2 med large onions, peeled and sliced thinly
1 lrg carrot, washed and well scraped, and sliced thinly
1 stalk of celery, washed and sliced thinly
1 sprg of parsley, washed and chopped
chopped chives

1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
450 g potatoes, peeled and cut up
60 g (up to 120 ) butter
120 g heavy cream
650 ml water

Recipe preparation steps
1

In a large sauce pan, add the water and all of the vegetables except the chives. Cover and cook over low heat for about two hours. Then add the salt and pepper. Drain the vegetables and KEEP the liquid!
2

Process the vegetables in either a food mill or a blender. Return them to the liquid. Add the butter and the cream. Reheat and taste...you may wish to add a bit more salt... Serve sprinkled with the chives.
3

To change that masterpiece into a Watercress Soup, hold the chives. Instead finely chop a bunch of watercress and add it at the same time that you add the butter and cream. Serve with the top sprinkled with additional finely chopped watercress.
Ready !