Potato Soup a la Norma

My grandmother, Norma, used to make this oh-my-god divine potato soup.  She said she used to make it way back when she was younger.  My grandmother, for a majority of her time on earth, lived in poverty.  She was the master of creating delicious food on a shoestring budget.  Potato soup was something use made a lot, she said, because it makes A LOT of soup and is cheap to increase the volume of, since all you need is more potatos.

I give you Potato Soup a la Norma, Pioneer woman style.  Pics after the jump.

Potato Soup a la Norma

• 6-8 medium russet potatos
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 2 tbsp salt (I use kosher salt)
• 4-5 strips turkey bacon
• 4 cans of 98% fat-free cream of celery soup
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• a few splashes of Liquid Smoke (optional)

First, take out your potatoes.  Wash them.

The knife in the picture is my trusty Wüsthof santoku knife.  I love that thing like I would love my own child.  For the curious, the blade is kept in that white, magnetic blade guard, because I’m a klutz and would lop off a finger if I didn’t keep it in a guard.

Peel your potatoes.  My peeler is from The Pampered Chef, which I recommend!  Very sharp, very handy.  It even juliennes.  Plus for those of you with small children around the house, the blade retracts.  Now cut up your potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

Purposefully cut some a lot smaller, so that they disintegrate during cooking.

did you know I’m allergic to raw potatoes?  True story!  If I handle them without gloves on, anywhere the raw potatoes have touched gets red, itchy, and swollen.  If I rub my face with potato juice on my hands, I get itchy, puffy eyes and start sneezing.   Hence, I wear gloves.

Now, put those pieces in a soup pot.

Ignore that packet of duck sauce.

Now, add enough water to cover the potatoes, plus another inch of water.

Then add your salt.  It will absorb into the potatoes and make them less bland.  I prefer kosher salt, or sea salt, but table salt works too.

Now, turn the heat on.  I have a glass-top electric rang, so I put it on medium heat.  If you have gas, put it on medium low.

Now, let’s cut up some veggies.  We will start with an onion.

I love onion.  I also love garlic.  Being a quarter Italian puts a love for these things straight into my genetic code.  I’m weird in the way that I love the smell of my hands  after handling the aforementioned articles.

Anyway, we’re gonna cut up the onion Pioneer Woman style.  I didn’t take pictures, though, so I will link you to her guide on cutting up an onion.  Use only half the onion.  Dice the pieces about a quarter inch.

Now, get out your bacon.  I prefer turkey bacon, as it yields less fat.  Regular bacon would work, but Mat likes to watch his girlish figure, so turkey bacon it is.

If you are a vegetarian, you can skip the bacon.  The Liquid Smoke that I add later can make up for the bacon if you decide not to add it.  Anyway, take out about  four or five strips.  If you like a lot of bacon, by all means, add more bacon, but I think about four strips will do.  Put ‘em in a pan.

Start frying them on medium heat.  Get out your ribs of celery.

If you look in the background you can see the onion I had chopped.  Anyway, slice off the flavorless bottom half, then start slicing the celery.  Make them moderately thin.

When you’ve got your celery chopped, add your onion in with the bacon, along with about a tablespoon of cooking oil, since turkey bacon doesn’t have much fat to fry off.  You want the onion to get nice and soft, and absorb all of that tasty bacon-y flavor.  If you decided not to use bacon, just throw the bacon in a skillet with a little bit of cooking oil.

Spread it around a bit.

Now, we’re gonna add a little something to the soup.  Not a whole lot of people know the potential of the next ingredient.

Celery leaves.  Celery leaves are excellent in soups.  They offer so much flavor, but most people throw.  Them.  Away.  It’s a tragedy.  Lop off about a hand-full of them.

Now chop them up.

Now, we’re gonna add them to the soup.  Throw it all in there.

Just toss it in.  Trust me.

Give it a good stir after the leaves are in.  Now, let’s got back to that skillet.

Throw in your celery bits.  Just toss it right in there with the bacon and onion.

Cook the bacon, onions, and celery for a little while until the onions are nice and soft, and the celery is a little soft too.  When that have been achieved, remove the bacon, even if it’s not done.  That’s fine.  Throw the veggies in with the boiling potatoes.

Give it a good stir.  This will not only mix the veggies in, but it will start to break up some of the smaller potato pieces.  It adds flavor and body to the soup.

Now, finish frying the bacon and transfer it to the cutting board.

Now, coarsely chop it.

Add it to the soup and give it another good stir.  Let it all cook until the potatoes are done.  Then let them cook just a little longer until they are nice and soft.

Now, we add the cream of celery.  I know cream of celery doesn’t exactly sound appetizing, but it’s good!  I promise.  Plus the 98% fat-free kind will help watch the fat content of the soup.

Start adding the soups to the pot, one by one.  Add, stir, taste.

Yeah, I know, not very appetizing looking, but you gotta trust me.  Stir the soup until your soups dissolve.

Now, if you want a smokier, bacony flavor, you can add a couple splashes of Liquid Smoke.  I love this stuff, it’s great as an ingredient to marinades.  If you decided to forgo the bacon, this can make up for the flavor.  It’s a little on the salty side, however.  Those of you with blood pressure problems might want to take note of that.

If you want, add a few splashes of this tasty stuff.

Give it another stir.  Taste.  Adjust.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Then add your parsley.  Normally, I’d say use fresh parsley, but in this case, dried seems to be better.

Give it another good, firm stir.

And it’s done!  It’s a tasty, cold weather soup that will warm your bones.  It makes a LOT of soup.  I haven’t tried to freeze it so not sure how it holds up there.  Usually it’s eaten too fast to consider freezing it.

Serve it in a soup mug.  Best way to have creamy soups is in a soup mug.

Mmmm…good stuff.  Of course, if you’re a salt fiend like me, you can add more to your individual cups.  I go easy on the salt when I’m cooking, because not everybody loves salt like me.

I punched this into my calorie calculator on my trusty iPhone, and this is the nutrition facts that i got.

The soup makes about eight tasty servings.

• Calories: 314
• Fat: 4.7g
• Sat. Fat: 1.5g
• Cholesterol: 9.1mg
• Sodium: 1,800 mg (yeah, I know, it’s a bitch)
• Carbs: 63.3g (it’s potatoes, people.  It’s carb-y)
• Fiber: 6.3g
• Sugar: 4.1g
• Protein 6.9g

Good stuff, though!  Enjoy!