OK so the last recipe for BPS was great and we all enjoyed it, but I couldn't help feeling that it was a bit of a cheat as there was no 'baked' about the potatoes or anything else in that recipe. It was potato soup with toppings that would be appropriate for a baked potato and it worked. It worked very well in fact.
But I wanted more. I wanted that baked potato taste in the soup itself so went out on a limb and tried something else which really does impart the comfort flavour of a good jacket potato with warm, creamy surrounds. And it works very well with the lower fat version of some of the ingredients.
4 baking potatoes, about 1 kg total weight
80g plain flour
1.2 l milk (skimmed is fine)
100g grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
250 ml reduced fat crème fraîche
To garnish:
70 g diced and fried pancetta
snipped chives
freshly ground black pepper
Prick potatoes, rub lightly with olive oil and bake at 200ºC for about an hour until soft inside. Cool slightly and then mash roughly with skins on.
Mix flour with milk in a heavy saucepan on hob. Heat slowly, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbling. Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 of the cheese and seasonings and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
Stir in crème fraîche. Cook over low heat for a further few minutes until thoroughly heated but do not boil. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the rest of the grated cheese, chopped chives, pancetta and pepper.
I served this with yet another loaf of bread, made like the rosemary one of the other day, but without the herbs. It went down a treat with all my fellow diners (family, but I take what I can get!).
But I wanted more. I wanted that baked potato taste in the soup itself so went out on a limb and tried something else which really does impart the comfort flavour of a good jacket potato with warm, creamy surrounds. And it works very well with the lower fat version of some of the ingredients.
4 baking potatoes, about 1 kg total weight
80g plain flour
1.2 l milk (skimmed is fine)
100g grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
250 ml reduced fat crème fraîche
To garnish:
70 g diced and fried pancetta
snipped chives
freshly ground black pepper
Prick potatoes, rub lightly with olive oil and bake at 200ºC for about an hour until soft inside. Cool slightly and then mash roughly with skins on.
Mix flour with milk in a heavy saucepan on hob. Heat slowly, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbling. Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 of the cheese and seasonings and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
Stir in crème fraîche. Cook over low heat for a further few minutes until thoroughly heated but do not boil. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the rest of the grated cheese, chopped chives, pancetta and pepper.
I served this with yet another loaf of bread, made like the rosemary one of the other day, but without the herbs. It went down a treat with all my fellow diners (family, but I take what I can get!).
This sounds delicious - perhaps even better than the version we both tried before! Will definitely try it with real baked potatoes next time.
ReplyDelete