Ham and Potato Soup

Old man winter has, unfortunately, arrived. But, I have a recipe here that will help you overcome his chill and give you some comfort. This potato soup is awesome, and I discovered a little trick today that makes it even better. 🙂

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup

By: Ellie11 @ Allrecipes.com

Original recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/delicious-ham-and-potato-soup/detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 6-7 Medium sized peeled and diced potatoes
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I use 1.5 tsp onion powder)
• Half package of diced ham (about 1/2 pound)
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 3 or 4 tablespoons cornstarch (depending on preferred thickness)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in cornstarch with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk and cream as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk/cream has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

The original recipe uses 5 tablespoons of flour, but I discovered today that about 3 tablespoons of cornstarch makes for a less grainy soup, though it’s maybe not quite as thick. We preferred it with the cornstarch, but it’s up to you.

I also leave out the celery because honestly, I dislike the way it overpowers everything it’s in.

I don’t recommend using russet potatoes for this, maybe they are too starchy? I like the white potatoes with the gold skins on them or yukon golds, and you don’t even have to peel them (I don’t).

You’ll notice that I said to put in 1 cup milk and 1 of heavy cream–the original calls for all milk, so don’t panic if you don’t have the cream, but I really like the richness it adds to the soup.

I hope if you are looking for some comfort food that takes about 30 minutes from start to finish you’ll give this a try. 🙂 It’s not nearly so fussy as it might sound, the hardest part is prepping the potatoes.

Enjoy! 🙂