Cheese & Potato Cream Soup
Creamy and velvety, with the flavors that we love - a soup that satisfies!
The Print Shop was a restaurant in Salt Lake City, that was all the rage at the time, but closed many years ago, probably before most of you had arrived, which only goes to prove that great food was being concocted before you were born! Think of all the delicious bites you missed out on!
This recipe was a keeper for sure - one of the first creamy cheese soups I had tasted, sharp with the cheese but mild with the addition of cream and butter. The carrot and onion and the chunks of tender red potato created a unique taste I hadn’t experienced before. Somewhere among the boxes, files and shelves of recipes that are my happy place, this recipe had disappeared. But there were still a few brain cells in my memory that remembered enough to recreate it!
For many of us, soup is a comfort food, of a depth that purrs with warmth and coziness. Try this one and add it to your happy place - among your repository of recipes.
CHEESE & POTATO CREAM SOUP
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup shredded or finely chopped carrot
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups rich chicken stock (or good quality bouillon)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Gouda or Edam cheese
1 cup medium or sharp cheddar, grated
4 medium red potatoes, boiled until tender
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 green onions, sliced thinly (including green tops)
-In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onions, carrots, celery, red pepper and saute until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).
-Add flour and stir over heat until flour is completely incorporated. Add chicken broth and milk and cook until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, stirring frequently with a whisk.
-Remove from heat. and place shredded cheese on top of soup and allow to rest for 5 minutes before stirring in, to allow cheese to temper. Then return to heat and stir in the cheese until it is completely melted and the soup is smooth, stirring constantly.
-Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cut cooked potatoes into chunks leaving the skin on and add to the soup. Heat the soup through and adjust for seasoning.
-Serve topped with a garnish of freshly grated cheese and sliced onions.
Chop vegetables into small pieces and boil potatoes until just fork-tender.
Can we say it? The perfect cheese soup?
