Baked Potato Soup

Posted on December 2, 2015December 3, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

$Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

I started experimenting with this simple potato soup a few years ago. This version of the recipe was first developed at the cottage and quickly became a favourite among my friends. I love making it for a large group and serving it, still in the pot, with lots of little bowls of garnishes surrounding it so everyone can have fun customizing their own bowls.

The soup is quite simple and comes together rather quickly. The potatoes can be baked several hours ahead and left to cool until you are ready to assemble the rest of the ingredients.

$Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

Ingredients

2 rashers of high quality bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cups russet potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed (about 5 small to medium potatoes)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, or enough to cover
1 cup milk
3 tbsp plain yogourt
salt and pepper to taste

For the Garnish

plain yogourt
cheddar cheese, grated
green onion

Method

Things happen quite quickly, so you’ll want to have all of your ingredients ready before you get started.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash your potatoes and pierce them a few times with a fork. Place them directly on the oven rack (there’s no need to season the skins because we will be peeling them) and bake for 40 – 60 minutes, or until tender. Let cool.
Slice bacon into garnish size pieces and place in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Cook until crispy then remove the bacon to a paper towel and set aside. Leave the bacon drippings in the pot.
Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until soft.
Peel and chunk up the baked potatoes. They are easy enough to peel with your fingers – if they have cooled – but you can use a knife, if you like. Add them to the pot with the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Once you’ve reached a simmer, remove the pot from the heat, add the milk and sour cream then blend until smooth.
Heat through and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with plenty of garnishes. I like classic baked potato garnishes like sour cream/ yogourt, cheddar, bacon and green onion but you can use anything you would normally put on top of a regular baked potato!

Serves 4 – 6 as a meal.

$Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Baked Potato Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

All photos by me.

Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup

Posted on October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

$Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

I love making soup, and this butternut squash soup is probably the best that I make. I originally found the recipe in Joy of Cooking and have been adapting, tweaking and making it my own over the years. The great thing about this soup is that it can easily be made vegan-friendly with one small substitution.

$Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$ $Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

Ingredients

For the Soup

1 medium to large butternut squash
3 tbsp olive oil
½ large sweet onion, chopped
4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make it vegan)
pinch of kosher salt

For the Garnish

2 tsp olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

$Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup \\ Sophster-Toaster Blog$

Method

Preheat the oven to 375º and place a rack in the centre of the oven.
Split the squash in half length-wise on a cutting board with a wet cloth underneath the board for added stability. Use a large, sharp knife and keep your fingers well out of the way. Remove the strings and seeds with a spoon, keep the seeds.
Place the squash halves (or quarters if it is quite large) cut side up on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt.
Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the squash is soft and easily pierced with a knife.
While the squash is baking prepare the seeds by rinsing them in water, trying to remove as much of the squash strings as possible – you won’t be able to get them completely clean, and that’s fine.
Place the seeds on a paper towel and rub them gently to clean them up a little bit more. Remove them from the paper towel and leave them on the cutting board to dry. They can become stuck to the paper towel and be quite difficult to remove if left to dry on it.
When the squash is done baking, remove it from the oven and leave it to cool. Turn the oven down to 325º.
Mix the olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and toss with the seeds. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in the over for 10 minutes – I like to stir them up half way through to separate any that may have been stuck together.
While the seeds are roasting, heat your olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat, chop your onion and mince your ginger.
Add the onion and ginger to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft but not browned.
Remove the skin from the cooled squash – I like to peel it like I would a celeriac – and chop the flesh into large chunks. Add the squash to the pot along with the chicken or vegetable broth.
Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often and breaking up the squash.
Puree the soup with a stick blender (or in a regular blender or food processor) until beautifully smooth. Season with salt. If the soup is too thick for your taste, add an addition 1-2 cups of broth and heat through.
Serve garnished with the roasted seeds and some fresh ground black pepper.

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All photos by me.

Leftover Roast Turkey Soup

Posted on January 3, 2014January 3, 2014 by Melissa Harrison

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s recipe from Jamie’s Christmas with Bells On.

I love Mr. Oliver’s way of throwing every leftover from a hearty roast dinner – even the gravy – into a big pot, adding stock, simmering, blending and calling it soup. I’ve made a few adjustment to his recipe to work in more leftovers and use more of the ingredients I typically have on hand after whipping up a roast dinner.

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