Recipe - Potato Soup with Cheese and a kick

This soup is fairly quick to make and I find it quite filling.

It is versatile too. You can either serve big portions of it as a winter filler meal or you can go for a daintier approach and serve it as a starter.

I can't really think of more to say, it is such an easy and straightforward soup to make so I think I'll just head over to the recipe.


Ingredients (serves 4 - 6)
3 tbsp butter
1 small shallot, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 - 2 glugs of white wine (optional)
700g potatoes (I use Maris Piper), peeled and quartered
750 ml chicken stock
750 ml water
375 ml milk
375 ml double cream
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Grated Gruyère cheese
Smoked paprika
Olive oil
Spring onion, finely sliced - to garnish

Method
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a pot on a medium heat. Once it starts bubbling add the shallot and let it fry for about a minute. Add in the white wine and the garlic and continue frying for a couple of minutes.

Add the potatoes, chicken stock and water. Bring this to a boil, once boiling reduce to a simmer. Let this simmer for about 15 minutes or until a knife easily pierces the potatoes.

Drain the pot through a sieve into a bowl. Remove all the solids from the sieve apart from the potatoes.

Put the milk, double cream and 375ml of the cooking liquid back into the pot. Put this on a medium heat and using a potato ricer press the potoato into the pot. Give it a couple of gentle stirs once all potatoes are riced. Whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season well with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Put some grated Gruyère into each soup bowl, pour in soup. Garnish with some olive oil, a dusting of smoked paprika and some spring onion slices.

Serve with bread.

Enjoy!