Bacon & potato soup

Bacon & potato soup
Recipe from Make Five/Maak vyf
Serves 4
Soup is homely, comfort food and this recipe will quickly become a winter favourite, not just because of the flavour, but also the chunky texture. Bacon and potato always work well together, but make sure you remove any excess bacon fat, otherwise it can settle on top of the soup. Take care when seasoning the soup, as bacon is quite salty. Potatoes don’t freeze well as they become glassy,so rather keep leftovers for lunch the next day. Potatoes are high in carbs, so keep things on the healthier side and don’t be tempted to serve it with bread, as this will make the meal unnecessarily high in carbohydrates.
20 ml (4 tsp) olive oil
250 g lean bacon, cut into pieces and excess fat removed
2 onions, chopped
2 leeks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
15 ml (1 tbsp) dried mixed herbs
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
250 ml (1 cup) chicken or vegetable stock
500 ml (2 cup) water
60 ml (¼ cup) sour cream or milk
salt and black pepper
60 ml (¼ cup) coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- Heat half of the oil in a pot and fry bacon until crispy. Spoon out and set aside.
- Heat remaining oil in the same saucepan over medium heat and sauté onions, leeks and garlic until soft and golden brown. Add potatoes, herbs, bay leaf, lemon juice, stock and water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Remove sprigs of rosemary and bay leaf. Blend with a hand blender, but not until completely smooth. Alternatively, mash with a potato masher.
- Stir the bacon and sour cream or milk into the soup and season to taste. Heat until warmed through, but don’t let it boil. Stir in parsley and serve immediately with some extra olive oil.
- The soup is also delicious with chopped chives. Garnish the soup with any cheese of your choice.
- Substitute bacon with pork sausages. Fry until cooked, spoon out and cut into thick slices. Add to the soup in step 5 and heat until warmed through.
- For more delicious soup recipes click here.
Image: Neville Lockhart