Hi guys, I'm Laura Vitale and on this episode of Laura in the Kitchen, I want to share with
you my loaded potato soup.
I have been getting requests to make this soup for so long!
And I don't know why I never did, but it is to die for and it is so incredibly easy, if
you love a loaded baked potato, this is the soup version!
And I mean, it's cold outside - I would eat this, and I have eaten this in the middle
of July, so I have no excuses..
The point is, it's really, really good, it's really comforting, a little goes a long way
and everyone loves it!
I have yet to meet a person that doesn't love it because it's just that rich and bacon-y
and potato-y and really delightful.
Now, the ingredients you'll need are few and basics, you're going to start off with some
potatoes, I have some Yukon gold that I diced into about a half inch or so pieces, I've
got some bacon chopped, onion, butter, flour, I've got some chicken stock, some milk and
you are going to need a few additional ingredients which we will get to in just a little bit.
But for now, let's get started, shall we!?
I've got a big soup pot that I'm going to preheat over about medium heat, now I need
to cook up my bacon first, you can do - you can cook your bacon in the oven first, and
then crumble it, I just find it easy to do it all in one pot, and the pot's not super
hot yet but don't worry, once it starts to sizzle, it gets really hot, the bacon will
start to render it's fat, it'll start to get really nice and crispy, and once it's nice
and crispy, I'm going to get it out of here using a wooden spoon - a slotted spoon, and
I'll show you what it looks like when it's there!
Bacon's nice and crispy, I'm just getting it out of the pan - out of my big pot using
this slotted spoon, now, normally - see I'm like fishing in here because I'm too short
- ha!
Normally, I'd say use some of the leftover bacon fat to make your rue or to make your
onions in.
I don't want to do that because I find that if you do that, then the bacon flavor just
starts to be a little bit overpowering so what I do is I get rid of the bacon fat, you
can keep it in the fridge, it solidifies, and you can keep it to roast potatoes, in
which case all will be well with the world and you'll be forever grateful because it
is amazing!But for today, I am just going to get this out into the dirty bowl - put
it in the dirty bowl.
And now, in that same pot, there's a little bit of fat in there, maybe a teaspoon or so
but not much.
I am going to add my butter and because I - it looks like a lot of butter but remember,
this is a rich soup, a little goes a long way and I want to saute my onions in butter
and then I also need the butter to make a rue, so kill two birds with one stone.
I'm going to saute my onions in my butter until my onions become nice and translucent
and it will take about I'd say, two to three minutes, maybe four minutes, just keep an
eye on it.
These are looking good!
I'm going to add my flour, now this is what's going to help thicken - the potatoes will
help thicken the soup as well, but you need to make a rue in order for, you know in order
for the soup to be really thick and creamy and just gorgeous and you just cook it for
about a minute, i want to make sure that you don't see any raw flour anywhere and this
is perfect.
Give it a few more seconds, it gets rid of any of that raw flour taste.
It smells so good already because I can smell the bacon and the onions and the butter cooking
together is like a match made in food heaven.
At this point I am going to add in my chicken stock which as you know, I use my little stock
base or whatever it's called.
I'm going to get a good spoonful of that.
And make sure you always use a low sodium, because you want to be able to control as
much of the salt as possible.
And then you're also going to add in some whole milk.
Now, a lot of people make - there are so many different variations of this soup, really,
there's no one way of making it, but for me, this is my preferred concoction, I'd suppose.
And now, to this, I am going to add my potatoes.
Once everything comes to a simmer, you want everything to simmer together for about fifteen
minutes, the potatoes should be tender but they should retain their texture, just a little
bit and their shape, otherwise it just kind of like - they disintegrate into nothing.
So let that simmer, let that come up to a gentle bubble, and then let it simmer on medium
for about fifteen minutes, or until the potatoes are about tender.
My soup has been simmering for about twenty five minutes, it took a little bit longer
because my potatoes were a little bit bigger than, than they should be - but all is good
with the world!
My potatoes are tender but they still retained their shape and some of their texture, at
this point I have tasted this for seasoning and I do think it needs quite a bit of seasoning
- at least, definitely a lot of pepper because I love black pepper with any potato.
And then a good pinch of salt.
Not too much because we are going to be adding the cheese in.
Give that a stir, just to stir it in, smells phenomenal!
And now I'm going to add in the sour cream.
Now, you - there are so many ways you can do this, you can omit the sour cream and just
add it on top if you want to, I think it adds a richness you cannot replace.
I'm going to add my bacon back in, whatever is left over from me picking at it.
And then this is optional, you can serve it on top or right in the soup, I like to do
it right in because I just love the flavor of some green onions.
And then some sharp cheddar that I have grated, you want a good cup and a half or so, I'm
going to reserve a little bit for the top but I want a good cup and a half right into
the soup and this is what's going to give you so much incredible richness, and then
just kind of stir this in and you want to just simmer this for about five minutes or
until the cheese is fully melted, and you don't want this to boil you just want to simmer
it slowly just to melt the cheese and to kind of heat up the sour cream and now look at
that texture it is just phenomenal.
Just going to let this go for a few minutes and then we are ready to serve this baby.
Look at that, that just looks phenomenal.
Okay, turning off the heat and I'm going to ladle some.
I am like - I'm standing and waiting!
That is just gorgeous, look at that beautiful texture, the bacon, the potatoes, you can
still see that they've got good shape and then I just need a, just a little bit more
cheese, just a little bit more cheese.. just a little bit!
Sprinkle that on top, sprinkle some more green onions on top, extra bacon, sour cream, whatever
your heart desires, and then I just kind of like to do that so that it can start to melt,
and then as I eat it, it pulls a little bit..
Mmm!
Okay, I'm going to give this a go, but I'm just going to need a minute because it is
hot.
Oh my word!
It is just so delectable, so rich, so fabulous, it is like a baked potato with all the fixings
in soup form.
I can't even tell you how good this is.
Mmm!
Hot!
Really hot!
Hold on.
It is good enough to bring you to tears because you are eating it scorching hot.
And that to me is a good sign!
I hope that you try this, I hope that you love it and I hope that if you have been requesting
this for a long time, then this is exactly what you are looking for.
LauraintheKitchen.com will have the recipe written for you, all ready for you to take
it, go to the grocery store, get your ingredients, make it and I- you'll you will thank me.
You will love this!
I promise!
I will put my name on it!
Hope you've enjoyed spending time with me and I will see you next time, bye bye!