I braved the cold drizzling rain this morning to go on a much-needed grocery trip. The combination of the chill in my bones and the "manager's special" potatoes and mushrooms inspired me. After buying a few extra things on top of my regular shopping list, I headed home to make a comforting potato and mushroom soup. Perfect!
Since going gluten-free I've enjoyed experimenting with and adapting recipes. I love searching Pinterest and the web for gluten-free and dairy-free alternatives, and adapting them based on my own needs and the ingredients I happen to have on hand. In the process I've come across some great foodie blogs and have toyed with the idea of chronicling my own culinary adventures.
After repeated encouragement in that direction from friends and housemates, I decided to take pictures of my soup-making process today as an experimental venture into the food blogging world. Unfortunately I had to use my old old camera phone, as I had no other camera on hand, so the pictures are a little weak and grainy, but the culinary result of my experimentation was a huge success, and I am pleased to share it without any further ado.
Potato & Mushroom Soup
5-6 medium jacket potatoes
2 yellow onions
1 lb. white mushrooms
1 lb. bunch kale
1 lb. bacon
3 Tbsp. garlic
8 cups water
2 cups whole milk (or equivalent cream/water mixture)
salt & pepper to taste
Cook the bacon until just browned (according to package instructions). If you want it a little crispier, cook it a little longer, but it's going into the soup, so it will probably get soft anyway. (If you've got to have that crispy bacon, go ahead and cook some of it crispier and just hold it on the side to use as a garnish, rather than putting all of it into the soup.) I opted to broil my bacon so I could use the grease for frying up the onions and garlic.
While the bacon is cooking, chop your onions and mince your garlic. I happened to have pre-minced garlic, but fresh would have been amazing!
After the bacon has cooked, set it onto a paper-towel covered plate and pour the grease into a large pot on medium heat. Add your garlic and onions to the grease and let it simmer and fry for a little while, just until the onions are getting nice and soft. You don't want any of it to burn.
While the onions, garlic, and bacon grease is saturating your kitchen with a heavenly scent, chop up your potatoes, kale and bacon. I quartered my potatoes, then chopped them into slices so they wouldn't take too long to get soft. If you want the soup a little chunkier, cut them thicker, just make sure you are consistent with the sizes so they cook at the same rate.
Add the 8 cups of water, potatoes, and chopped bacon to the pot and turn up the heat a little. Feel free to add a little salt and pepper at this point so the flavor saturates the potatoes as they cook. Cover and let it cook away. Once the potatoes are getting soft and are almost done, add the kale, mushrooms, and milk (or cream alternative). Mix well so the mushrooms and kale are immersed and cook well.
Let the soup simmer a while and add salt and pepper to taste. I try to multi-task in the kitchen, so while I'm waiting for stuff to cook, I tend to start cleaning up the mess I've made of the kitchen. You'll know the soup is ready when the potatoes are soft all the way through (but not quite falling apart), and the mushrooms have turned dark and juicy as they've absorbed the broth.
The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but the end result is a simple, but rich and comforting dish, perfect for warming you up on a chilly fall day. The recipe makes a good size pot of soup, with enough for 6-8 servings and is one I'll definitely hold onto for my recipe book when I become a famous gluten-free chef in the near future.Labels: food
