Cream of Potato Soup

Kartoffelsuppe

This creamy soup warms the heart and satisfies your hunger on chilly winter days.

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small leek, trimmed, washed well, and thinly sliced
• 1 small celery rib, thinly sliced
• 2 thick slices double-smoked bacon, halved crosswise
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf marjoram, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 pound Maine or Eastern potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 quart rich chicken broth (preferably homemade)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives for garnish

Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onions, leek, celery, bacon, marjoram, thyme, and nutmeg and stir-fry about 2 minutes, until nicely glazed.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and steam 15 minutes until the onions are very limp, remove and discard the bacon. Raise the heat to moderate, add the potatoes and broth, bring to a simmer, uncovered, then adjust the heat so the broth bubbles gently. Cover and simmer 40 minutes, until the potatoes are mushy. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the soup, still covered fro 15 minutes.

Puree the soup mixture in two batches by blending in a food processor or an electric blender at high speed for 1 minute.

Return the soup to the pan, mix in the salt and pepper, then taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Heat the soup, uncovered, to serving temperature, ladle into bowls and sprinkle each portion with snipped chives.

Source: Hedy Würz/ Jean Anderson: "The new German Cookbook"