A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Jun 8 2009

Potato soup

Category: Come and Get It

Even though we live in suburbia, until about 10 years ago this was prime agricultural (and coal mining) land. There are still several family farms close by including Miller Farms, only a 10 minute drive away. Luckily for us, Miller Farms encourages families and schools to visit to pick vegetables and learn about how food is grown.

Every year we make a trek out to Miller Farms to pick vegetables and pumpkins. This started with Nathan's preschool when he was three. The first year I went, but afterwards I had Paul go with Nathan because he could carry more vegetables than I could. They'd come back with two large bags, including potatoes, onions and turnips bigger than Nathan's head. (No, I'm not exaggerating -- the produce was huge.)

This year, the school took care of our yearly fall visit. Nathan's entire first grade class went for a full day of hayrides and digging in the mud. Lucie tagged along with a preschool friend's family. (They also have a first grader, Cameron, who was in Nathan's homeroom last year.)

Besides getting muddy, exhausted children after a farm trip, I usually get a large bag full of potatoes, onions, turnips, and carrots. Since it was late in the season, they only brought home potatoes, but that gave me the excuse to make a potage.

I do not make the classical French Potage Parmentier which has cream added to it as a thickener. Instead, I wing it with whatever I have on hand. My recipe is super simple to make (though a bit time consuming because of all the peeling and chopping). And my kids love it! The first night Nathan ate two large bowls.

Just remember, the more orange vegetables you use, the more orange-ish the soup. The more green veggies, the greener it will look. Use both and the soup will be brown. So you decide what color your kids will eat. Either way, it's a delicious, healthy dish, and perfect for those cold fall and winter nights. It's also a great way to take advantage of all the seasonal sales on potatoes and chicken broth.

Anne-Marie's Potage

Ingredients:
Vegetables. You want enough vegetables to fill 4/5 of the pot -- potatoes, carrots, leeks, onions, turnips, parsnips, garlic cloves, broccoli, cauliflower, yams, cabbage, etc. No beets or red cabbage. Feel free to add any veggies that have been getting a little old in the refrigerator. Just make sure to trim off any "yucky" bits. The mix should be at least 50% potatoes.

Chicken or veggie broth. You will need enough to cover the vegetables in the pot. 

Salt and pepper.

Herbs de Provence spice mix (I use a liberal amount of this mix, which I've already made up beforehand):

• 3 tbsp. dried marjoram
• 3 tbsp. dried thyme
• 3 tbsp. dried savory
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

Preparation:
1. Wash, peel, and roughly chop up all the vegetables and place in a very large stock pot.
2. Cover with broth and season to taste.
3. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower burner so the pot simmers for 1 hour or until vegetables are soft. Do not overcook so they turn into mush, however.
4. Let cool enough to puree in a blender or food processor, or use a wand blender.
(I use a wand blender, which was much easier than transferring the cooked vegetables and broth to my Cuisinart. Just remember to unplug the wand before cleaning. I didn't once, and spent time at the emergency room getting my fingers stitched up.)
5. Serve in individual bowls. Salt and pepper to taste. For an extra bit of yumminess, serve with a pat of butter melting on the top.