Southwest Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 TBSP canola oil

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup poblano pepper, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

2-3 large baking potatoes, raw, diced (about 4 cups diced)

1-2 “baked” potatoes, flesh removed

1 1/2 tsp chile rub (a special blend of chile powder, ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, sugar & salt)

- try: spice mix (1/2 tablespoon sugar, ½ tablespoon salt, ½ tablespoon chili powder, ½ tablespoon smoked paprika and ½ teaspoon cayenne, chipotle, or ancho pepper)

*OMITTED: 1/2 tsp white pepper

*OMITTED: 1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream

1 - 1 1/2 cups smoked cheddar cheese, grated (*NOTE: can also substitute a mix of cheeses - smoked gouda, white cheddar, and a pepper cheese of some kind is a great option - but it's critical that the majority is a smoked variety - this is NOT optional to give this soup its best flavor); reserve more for topping if desired

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 1-2 potatoes for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. *ALTERNATE: "Bake" potatoes in microwave or instant pot, or boil until mashable.

Heat oil in a heavy stock pot; add the onions, peppers and celery, sauté until soft.

Add raw, diced potatoes and chile rub sauté until incorporated.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, add the heavy cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

Cut the baked potatoes lengthwise and scoop out the contents with a large spoon, incorporate into soup with a wisk (this will help to thicken the soup). Continue to wisk and add smoked Cheddar cheese small amounts at a time, until completely melted.

Place into a serving bowl and garnish with smoked cheddar cheese, bacon & scallions.

Notes

Cheri's Notes:

-November 2023: Omit white pepper - in last couple of attempts have realized we don't like it.

-October 2022: 1st attempt at making this, so tried to keep it as close to the recipe as possible. Used Yukon Gold potatoes - 2 med-large for the baked (in the microwave), 4 for the diced (2 were medium, 2 large). Did not have the chili rub, so used 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder, a dash of cayenne, generous pinch of salt, and no sugar. I forgot the white pepper, but did add ground black pepper. I ended up adding more chicken broth - probably almost 2 cups more - because it seemed like I didn't have enough liquid covering the potatoes. That resulted in this being a lot thinner than the Firebirds version. It also didn't seem to have the same flavor and oomph as theirs - likely because of that chili rub. The smoked cheddar is AMAZING in this, though, and I'm so glad Kroger had this - it's definitely a key ingredient. Will need to tweak this a little and would love to switch the heavy cream out for something lighter, but want to make sure I don't lose the flavor or thick/creamy texture.

For next time: Swap out heavy cream for half and half; use cornstarch to thicken if adding more chicken stock; add chipotle chili powder, try a pinch of sugar and smoked paprika in the chili rub mix.

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ancho

1/4 tsp chipotle

1/4 tsp smoked paprika