So, I decided to make some potato soup today. Nothing fancy. Just the regular kind. The kind that sticks to your ribs. Had potatoes that needed using, and it’s been cold enough for it.
Here’s what I threw in:
Potatoes, of course. Maybe five, six of ’em. An onion. You gotta have onion. Butter. Some flour – that’s for thickening. Salt and pepper, standard stuff. For the creamy part, I just used a can of evaporated milk. It’s easy, and it’s always in the cupboard. Could’ve used regular milk, or even cream, but this works fine. Also grabbed some chicken broth. Water’s okay, but broth gives it a bit more something.
The potato part of the job:
First, peeling the damn things. Never fun. Then chopped ’em up. No need to be neat about it; they get mashed later anyway. Dumped them in a pot. Covered with water, threw in some salt. Boiled ’em till they were soft. Real soft. Fork goes right through ’em soft.
Drained ’em. Didn’t bother saving the water this time. Straight down the drain.
Making the actual soup base:
Same pot. Less washing up that way. Melted a chunk of butter. Chopped that onion I mentioned, tossed it in. Let it cook down till it was soft. Not brown, just soft. Sprinkled in flour, maybe two spoonfuls. Stirred it around for a minute. Gotta cook that flour taste out. If you don’t, your soup tastes like wallpaper paste. Bad mistake to make.
Then, the broth. Poured it in slow, kept whisking. No one wants lumpy soup. After that, the evaporated milk went in. Still stirring.
Putting it all together:
Threw the cooked potatoes back in with the milky stuff. Got out the masher and just mashed them right in the pot. I like some lumps, so I didn’t go crazy. Makes it feel more like real food. If it’s too thick, you just splash in more broth or water. Mine was alright today.
Let it all bubble away gently for, say, ten, fifteen minutes. So the flavors can get to know each other. Tasted it. More salt. Plenty of pepper. You gotta taste. Always. That’s how you get it right.
So, how’d it turn out?
It was soup. Poured some in a bowl. It’s not gonna win any prizes. But it was hot. It was creamy. And it filled me up. Did what it was supposed to do. Sometimes I’ll add cheese or bacon. Not today. Just kept it simple. It’s not a complicated thing to make, really. Bit of chopping, bit of stirring. That’s about it.
