I had a strong craving for that decadent baked potato soup every good Irish pub has and decided to make a slightly lighter version at home. And I do mean ‘slightly.’
Creamy Garlic Potato Vegetable Soup
I had a strong craving for that decadent baked potato soup every good Irish pub has and decided to make a slightly lighter version at home. And I do mean ‘slightly.’
Ingredients
- 4 cups broth chicken or vegetable
- 2 pounds of potatoes I used russet but a medley would work too
- 4 full heads of garlic or approximately 45-50 cloves
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 shallot
- 1 bunch scallions
- fresh rosemary sprig or about 1/2 tsp dried
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme more to taste
- 1 cup milk or 1/2 cup heavy cream
- parsley optional
- 3 medium carrots peeled
- lemon cut into wedges
- salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 cup aged cheddar cheese
- greek yogurt for serving
- bacon or veggie bacon 12 slices or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375f. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Peel the garlic. take 25 cloves, toss in olive oil and place in a foil pouch on the edge of the cookie sheet.
- Scrub and rinse potatoes, removing any questionable spots or knots. Dice evenly, about 3/4 to 1 inch cubes. Toss potatos with olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary sprig. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender with the garlic pouch, flipping/tossing at 20 minutes through.
- While the potatoes cook dice your veggies including the onion, shallot and carrots. Par boil the carrots until tender, approx 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pot add olive oil, onion and shallot and saute to translucent onions or close to it, approx 5 minutes. Add the remaining whole garlic cloves and saute for another 3 minutes. Stir often, you want some browning and a little bit of that dark crispyness to add flavor to the soup. Once these have sauteed add all of the broth/stock and lightly simmer to reduce by 1/4 to 1/3, approx 20 minutes.
- The potatoes should be done by now. Remove from oven and raise temperature to 400f. Bake your bacon on a foil lined sheet for 18 minutes, flipping or rotating the pan halfway through. Drain and pat oil off when done.
- While the bacon cooks, add all of the roasted garlic and 1/3 of the potatoes to the onion-broth pot. Add this entire pot to a large blender, blending in batches if necessary to a smooth consistency. Return to the large pot.
- Add remaining potatoes, carrots, 1-2 tb butter, 1/2+ cup cheese and milk/cream to the pot. Dice and add bacon to the pot. Simmer and stir. Add salt and pepper and check for herb seasoning or add diced scallions. Add juice of 1-2 lemon wedges to the pot.
- Serve hot with your choice of toppings including and most importantly more grated cheese, greek yogurt, scallions and/or a lemon wedge.