On a cold, blustery winter day, what tastes better than a bowl of hot soup? Rich, hearty, and creamy potato soup comes to mind when the temperature dips, and it sure does hit the spot. Here I’ve combined the elements of a basic potato soup with the decadence of nutty Jarlsberg cheese, a delicious pale ale, and of course – bacon – because it makes everything better.
Ingredients:
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 large russet potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
- 12-oz beer, pale or amber ale
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup milk
- 1.5 cups grated Jarlsberg cheese
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley, save 1 tbsp for garnish
- salt, pepper to taste
Directions
In a large stock pot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. When cool, break into small pieces and set aside to use as garnish. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the bacon drippings in the pan and sauté until softened. Add the beer and cook until the liquid is reduced to about half. Add the potatoes, season the vegetables with salt and pepper, then add the chicken stock. Simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the parsley and then purée the soup using an immersion blender. Now stir in the cheese until melted. Stir in the milk – heat the soup if necessary but do not boil. Garnish with crisp bacon bits and parsley.
I think this is another winner Ken!
Awesome! Thanks!
This is what you need to make you feel better! I’m going to make it this weekend!
It certainly is comforting! Feel better!
Looks great! We look forward to trying it! Reminds me of the Swiss Alps, or maybe the mountains of Colorado!
Looks good ! will have to try this one Ken.Very comforting in this weather ……..
Thank you! Yes it’s perfect for cold nights!
Made this tonight, it was wonderful! It’s a keeper! Thanks Ken.
I’m so happy you made it!
Need to make this…but the veggie version 🙂
Yes! If you do a veggie version, I would use a little bit of butter and olive oil to saute the veggies 🙂
Howdy stranger! I made this today and it was pretty awesome. I was searching tastespotting for a velvet-cream textured potato soup instead of all those mashed-potato-soup soups, and yours looked brilliant. Turns out it totally was! The extra carrot really makes this, I mean the color alone was perfect. I ended up using the only cheese currently in the house, manchego, which worked pretty well. Thanks for posting this, it’s the perfect potato soup, creamy but not thick.
Amy – I’m so glad you made the soup! Thank you for your comments, I’m so happy you enjoyed it.