Creamy Pea & Potato Soup

This hearty winter soup serves about 8 adults.  Most of my recipes serve 6-8 people.  I've never learned to cook for just the 4 of us.  This means that we almost always have leftovers, which also means I only have to cook 3 or 4 days each week.

1 lb. Bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tblsp. Reserved bacon grease
3 carrots, diced (~1 c.)
3 stalks celery, diced, (~1 c.)

2 onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Rosemary, crushed

1 tsp. Thyme

~1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. White pepper

6 c. Chicken broth

2 Tblsp. Cornstarch
2 lb. Potatoes*, cubed (1 inch) with skin on (~6 medium)

3 c. Frozen peas

2 c. Heavy cream

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

Cook bacon in batches in a large stock pot over medium heat. Reserve about 2 Tblsp. of the rendered fat. Set the bacon aside.

Add the reserved bacon grease back to the pot. Add the diced carrot, celery, and onion, season with a little salt, and cook until the onion is glassy. Stir in the garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and white pepper.  

Whisk the cornstarch into the chicken broth to make a slurry.  Slowly whisk the chicken broth into the veggies, being sure to get the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in the potatoes and peas.  Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cream, nutmeg, and bacon.

Correct seasoning to taste.  Serve hot.

 

*I used Russet potatoes because that's what I had on hand.  Any potato will do.  I think I had about 4 cups of cubed potatoes.

I think some mushrooms would be delicious in this soup.  Unfortunately for me, my children HATE mushrooms like Gollum hates losing the One Ring to Bilbo Baggins.

I suggest serving this soup alongside a nice, crusty bread.  My family's favorite is the LaBrea Roasted Garlic Loaf, available from Kroger.  It is an artisan bread that has whole cloves of roasted garlic throughout the loaf.  We love it!