Smashed Potato Soup
Whenever I want a hearty, vegetarian-friendly soup I go to this smashed potato soup. Recently, I spruced it up a bit to make it more flavorful and easier to actually make.
Many potato soup recipes call for a blender or food processor. I have several issues with this. First, on a really basic level it concerns me to put boiling liquids into any machine that will spin them around at high speeds. It just doesn’t seem super safe. Second, I will be honest with y’all, it’s just too much effort. Finally, I really like preserving the natural texture of mashed potatoes. I think they are delicious, especially in soup form with cheese, fake bacon, and all sorts of other things on top.
That’s why I’m calling this “smashed potato soup”, because to get the exact texture you want, you do have to spend some time smashing the potatoes against the side of the pot.
Include your kids!
- With infants, you can name ingredients with them, narrate the prep work, or even let them feel the different textures in all the vegetables.
- With toddlers: let them help clean leeks! Get some energy out by ripping off the outer leaves or having a sword fight with carrots and celery! Who says you can’t play with your food before you cook it!
- For older kids: they can help chop the onions, leeks, and celery with a safety knife (use your judgment on the carrots and potatoes, but they are much more difficult to prep). They can also help smash the potatoes!
- Kids of all ages can help bring ingredients out to the counter, and design their own bowl with all the different toppings!
Smashed Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 large shallots, minced
- 1 head of garlic, pealed roughly ten cloves
- 3 pounds yellow potatoes, diced
- 2 large leeks, cleaned and diced
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, rinsed and chopped
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- cheddar cheese, bacon, chives optional
Instructions
Cook the aromatic vegetables.
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Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
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Add in the shallots and garlic head. Simmer until garlic is browned and mixture is fragrant.
Continue to cook.
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Add in the potatoes, leeks, and vegetable broth. Simmer for twenty minutes.
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Add in the bay leaves, salt, pepper, and other herbs. Simmer for an additional twenty minutes.
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Mash the potatoes.
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When the potatoes are soft enough to smash, use a large spoon against the side of the pot to slowly mash them and blend them back into the soup.
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Add in the carrots and celery. Cook for an additional ten minutes.
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Add in the sour cream and cook for 5 more minutes.
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Add all toppings, and serve warm.
