Even though I’m always sad to see all the wonderful fresh summer fruits and vegetables disappear, fall’s cooler weather means we start making and serving soups again at The White Oak Inn. There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of hot soup on a chilly day.
This easy soup can be assembled and cooked in thirty minutes. It’s hearty and filling and leaving the skins on the potatoes adds pretty red flecks to the soup as well as ensuring all the vitamins from the potato are in the soup.
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion
3 tablespoons butter
4 or 5 stalks of celery
2 to 3 large carrots
8 medium redskin size potatoes
6 cups chicken stock
water as needed
3 cups half-and-half
2 teaspoons dried dillweed
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large stock pot. Cut onion into about 8 pieces and saute in butter over medium heat.
Cut each celery stalk and carrot into about 8 pieces and add to pot and saute for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and simmer vegetables for about 5 minutes. Scrub potatoes but do not peel. Cut each potato into 4 to 6 pieces and add to the pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add dill, salt and marjoram. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the half-and-half. Now blend everything together, either using a stick blender or by processing in small batches in a regular blender or food processor. If soup seems too thick, add milk or more water. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Reheat but do not boil.
The White Oak Inn
http://www.whiteoakinn.com
Yvonne Martin
Bed and Breakfast Foodie