Easy Potato Soup

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups diced Russet potatoes (2 large potatoes, about 2 pounds)

1 cup diced carrots (about 2 large)

1 clove garlic (mashed and diced)

3 cups water

1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base (chicken or turkey flavor is great)

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups milk (whole milk is best)

cheddar cheese

chopped green onions

chopped parsley

Directions

Boil the veggies. Peel the potatoes (2 large potatoes, about 2 lbs) and dice them. I like a fairly small dice, about 1/2 inch. Place in a stock pot or 3 quart pot. If you have not quite 4 cups of potatoes, or more like 5 cups, don't sweat it that's fine.

Peel the carrots and dice about the same size as the potatoes. Add to the pot.

Smash and mince 1 clove of garlic and add to the pot.

Add 3 cups of water to the potatoes and carrots. The water should be just barely covering the vegetables, so add a little more or less to make sure they are just barely covered. (We are not draining these potatoes, this water will be part of the soup.)

Add a heaping tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon Base. The Roasted Chicken flavor is great, but I also love the Turkey base, it has really rich flavor. If you don't have Better than Bouillon, you can use a couple teaspoons of bouillon granules or cubes. Those are much saltier than the paste so be careful.

Chop about 1/4 cup fresh parsley, or use 1 tablespoon dried parsley. Add it to the pot.

Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium to keep it at a steady simmer. Vent the lid (tilt it so that steam can escape.) Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are very tender. You should be able to smash one with a fork easily. Remove from heat.

Use a potato masher and roughly mash the mixture to your desired texture. I like a velvety soup with some chunks. You can leave it very chunky by not mashing at all, or if you want an ultra smooth soup you can use an immersion blender.

Make the white sauce (bechamel). Meanwhile, in a 2 quart pot or larger, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Once it is melted, add 1/2 cup flour and use a whisk to stir it together into a paste. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook this mixture for 1-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Slowly add the 4 cups of milk, 1 cup at a time. Use the whisk to incorporate the milk into the roux (roux=butter/flour mixture) every time you add more. See photos. It should take a few minutes to add all the milk.* If you dump it in all at once, you will have flour chunks in your soup. Don't be like that.

Once all the milk is added, keep stirring often so the bottom doesn't scorch. Your heat should still be on medium. Wait until the mixture has come to a boil (consistent bubbles rising from the center) and then let boil for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat.

Pour the white sauce into the pot with the potatoes, using a spatula to scrape all that goodness in. Stir the mixture together.

Serve warm and garnish with extra chopped parsley, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped green onions.

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Don't freeze this soup! The potatoes absorb tons of moisture, making the white sauce separate, and then it gets grainy on you. No thanks. Time to invite a friend over for soup and stories. I mean shouldn't that be a thing anyway?

Nutrition

• Calories: 273 kcal
• Total Fat: 16 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 43 mg
• Sodium: 759 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 27 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 7 g