Recipe and Review: Chunky Potato Soup

Looking to add something new to your winter repertoire of hearty, comforting dinner recipes? Look no further than this recipe for Chunky Potato Soup.

The Good Stuff

First things first, the recipe.

Chunky Potato Soup
Ingredients:
3 medium red potatoes
2 cups water
1 small onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups milk
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked cubed ham

-Cut peeled potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

-Boil water in large saucepan. Add potatoes, cook until tender. Drain, but save the liquid. Set potatoes aside.

-Measure 1 cup cooking liquid (add water if necessary).

-Finely chop onion. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to pan. Cook onion, stirring frequently, until tender but not brown.

-Add flour to saucepan. Season with pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Cook three to four minutes.

-Gradually add potatoes, reserved cooking liquid, milk and sugar. Stir well.

-Add cheese and ham. Simmer for thirty minutes over low heat. Stir frequently.

The Review

This recipe, from Grandma's Kitchen (www.grandma's kitchen.com) has become a regular cold weather meal in our house. Chunky potato soup is a hearty soup that is a meal all on it's own.

Don't let the name discourage you from trying this soup recipe. Chunky Potato soup is a bit of a misnomer. It is more accurately described as a ham or cheddar cheese soup. Chunky potato soup is full of flavor and entirely satisfying as a complete meal.

Additionally, don't be put off by the red pepper flakes in this recipe if you disdain hot foods. My family is quite wimpy when it comes to spicy foods, and at first glance I considered leaving out the red pepper. What a mistake that would have been! The red pepper gives a tiny kick, but greatly enhances the soup's flavor. There is something about it that brings out the best in each ingredient in this Chunky Potato Soup Recipe.

Grandma's kitchen (where the recipe hails from), suggests serving this soup with a fresh, hearty bread or in individual bread bowls purchased at a bakery. From the first time I made this Chunky Potato Soup recipe, I served it in homemade bread bowls, and the soup is not the same without them. Bread bowls are a highly recommended accompaniment for this soup.

As for the shredded cheese, in my house we found the sharper the cheddar the better. It can be tough to find a good, sharp shredded cheddar cheese, and so we've come to rely on using an eight ounce block of good quality cheddar (but it need not be premier stock). Don't bother to shred the cheddar to add to this recipe, just cut it into chunks and melt it in the Chunky Potato Soup. An added benefit of using block cheese-it's cheaper; about half as expensive as eight ounces of shredded cheddar. When I make this soup recipe I always double it. An eight ounce cheddar block is for a double batch of Chunky Potato Soup.

No leftover ham to cube? Boiled deli ham or ham cubes sold in your local grocery store work just as well and saves a lot of time. If you have to buy your ham from the deli counter, ask them not to slice it, or ask for half-inch thick ham slices. Then when you make the Chunky Potato Soup recipe, you only have to dice the boneless slices.

Grandma's Kitchen features a collection of traditional family recipes, but this recipe for Chunky Potato Soup is nothing like any of the simple, traditional farm recipes my Grandmother made, lacking in spices more exotic than salt and pepper. This soup recipe is hearty enough to fulfill even the most hearty appetites, and is the perfect mealtime solution for cold, blustery winter dinners.