Friday, January 9, 2009

Potato and Ham Soup

The one thing about winter that I really, really enjoy is the food. In the summer, we eat things like corn on the cob and grilled chicken. In the winter we get hearty food. Thick stews, pot roasts, meat loaf, hearty, warm food that takes some time to cook and scents the whole house. Coming into a warm kitchen that smells of simmering herbs and baking bread is one of the best things in winter time.

This is one of the recipes I got ages ago from my mom, probably out of a dusty binder she keeps behind the microwave, and tweaked as time has gone on.

It’s great for dumping in the crockpot in the morning and letting it heat slowly all day, but you can do a quick and dirty version on the stove, too.

Potato and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

5-7 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

A couple of tablespoons of flour

2 leeks, well rinsed and chopped (using the white portion and most of the tender green part)

3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or 1 and ½ tablespoons dry) If you don’t have or don’t enjoy dill, I kind of like rosemary or sage; use less, though, as these are slightly stronger than dill.

One box of chicken stock (what are they, quart sized?)

¾ cup heavy cream

About a cup of cooked ham, cubed. I never actually cook ham, so I buy ham steaks at the grocery store. I find that two of the medium sized ones do nicely.

Instructions

Toss the cubed potatoes and flour together until potatoes are coated. Put potatoes, leeks, dill, and chicken stock in crock pot and leave on low setting for 8 hours, until potatoes are tender (8 hours is a guess. I put them in when I leave for work and figure they’re done when I get home). Or, put on stove and simmer for significantly less time until potatoes are tender.

Blend with a traditional blender or with an immersion blender. I like to leave the soup kind of chunky, so I don’t blend very thoroughly.

Add cream and ham and heat through (5 or 10 minutes).

Serve.

The leftovers are even better than the original, I think.

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