Potato and Bacon Soup
A lusciously thick and rich potato soup, made with bacon, celery, onions, potatoes, chicken stock and double cream. Perfect when served as a starter, for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Serves: 8
- 450g streaky bacon, chopped
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 litre chicken stock or enough to cover potatoes
- 50g butter
- 4 tablespoons plain flour
- 250ml double cream
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Prep:10min ›
Cook:30min ›
Ready in:40min
- In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Drain off all but 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- In the bacon fat remaining in the pan, saute the celery and onion until onion begins to turn clear. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cubed potatoes and toss to coat. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the double cream, tarragon and coriander. Bring the cream mixture to the boil and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(2520)
Reviews in English (1914)
I didn't add the celery and used single cream instead of double cream. I had to use quite a bit of thyme for the flavour and think this soup would be nice with chicken. Overall I did like this soup though - 26 Sep 2012
This has to be one of the best tasting potato soup recipes I've tried. I think next time I will try adding some shredded cheese in the last step or stir some into a hot bowl of soup for an added kick. I did find that this recipe takes much longer to prepare than the recipe states. The times listed in the preparation are assuming you're starting out with peeled/diced potatoes, chopped onions, chopped celery, etc. If you have none of this prepared ahead of time (and who does?) then this recipe will take much longer to make. Sure, it's worth the time it takes to make it...but don't use this recipe for as last-minute dinner when you're in a hurry or when you're really tired and just wanting a good soup. It took me about two hours to make this from start to finish. The cooking of the potatoes in the middle of the recipe before the stock is added is an excellent step and it helps the potatoes cook much faster than they would have just by boiling alone. The puree step at near the end is very important. It highly affected the texture and flavor of the soup. Don't skip that step! Also, please don't think that "chicken broth" and "chicken stock" are the same thing. They're not! I wasn't able to find chicken stock at Walmart, I had to go to Albertsons. If you use chicken broth you'll get a much different result. I also noticed this recipe has no salt added. I did find adding salt to my bowl of soup helped the flavor even more. I suggest adding some salt! I hi - 15 Oct 2002 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
Good base soup to build on for personal preference. I felt the soup definitely lacked flavor, but wasn't sure if it was me, so I asked hubby to taste it. Immediate response; "terrible"! Thought he was kidding me, but alas, he was not.... Back to the stove top it went; added chicken boullion to give the soup more complexity and depth, extra garlic, white pepper (better with cream bases than black pepper), leeks, celery, garlic salt, tsp of hot pepper sauce, dried parsley and a tad bit more tarragon. Didn't need to puree the soup as the potatoes melted away. Ultimate potato soup with additions! - 27 Feb 2011 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)