I try to write about a variety of recipes that I make since I cook and bake quite often, but I wanted to share another delicious soup recipe with you all. Soup and chili is on the menu today as well but I’m making one that I’ve already shared with you so next week there won’t be a soup recipe, I hope.
Every now and then I try to use up what we have on hand mostly because I don’t like to waste food, but I also usually don’t have room for anything else. I tend to make things with what I have to use up, my daughter usually buys things for a recipe she wants to make so you can think of it as a constant battle or maybe we just work well together or maybe she likes to challenge me hmm. I will have to research this further.
Back to the soup, I had a few pieces of pork left in the fridge and one leek that I wanted to use up. My choice for pork soup is pork and asparagus pork & amp; Asparagus soup but I didn’t have asparagus on hand. What I did have was a bit of chicken stock some carrots, a leek a bunch of potatoes from my garden and lots of bits and grated cheese on hand so that’s how I got here.
Pork soup and cheesy potatoes
A hearty cheese soup that comes together pretty quickly and deserves your time
- 3-5 Potatoes Peeled or unpeeled and diced
- 4 carrots Peeled and chopped
- 1 big Onion cut into cubes
- 1-2 cups pig chopped
- 3 edges celery cut into cubes
- 1 Leeks Cut into cubes and clean
- 4 cups Chicken soup or stock Homemade is best but use what you have
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 5 spoons butter
- 5 spoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2-4 cups cheese Grated or finely chopped. Cheddar, Gruyère, Havarti, Provolone are excellent choices
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In a stock pot or Dutch oven, add a little olive oil and steam the onion and leek until they soften for about 3-5 minutes, add the garlic and steam another minute. Add about a handful of the potatoes and cover with the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium heat until the potatoes are soft. Using a potato masher to break up these potatoes will help thicken the soup even more. Then add the carrot, celery and the rest of the potatoes and cook on medium heat until the vegetables are soft. Note that you don’t have to cook the potatoes in batches like I did, I just wanted to mash a few of them to thicken the soup.
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Add the meat and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Remember, depending on what cheeses you use, some are more salty and others just remember to not over-salt.
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In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Slowly add the milk while whisking all the time to avoid lumps. Increase the heat to medium and continue to mix until it thickens about 4-5 minutes.
