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Rustic Potato Soup with Bacon and Chives

This rustic and creamy potato soup has notes of rosemary and smokey cherry wood. It's topped with crispy bacon, and fresh chives... and is perfect for an autumn day in the mountains.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Equipment

  • 1 Cast Iron Skillet or other pan
  • 1 Small stock pot
  • 1 Sharp knife
  • 1 cutting board
  • 1 potato masher
  • 1 ladle

Ingredients
  

  • 6 slices bacon cherry smoked, cooked. Save grease
  • 1 Carrot peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 med-large onion or 2 small onions
  • 1 Celery stick finely chopped
  • 5-7 red potatoes peeled, chopped
  • 1 tbsp rosemary finely chopped. Add more according to personal preference.
  • 5-7 sprigs chives chopped fresh is best, but dried is ok (season to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 8 oz cream cheese
  • 3 pints chicken broth homemade is preferred, canned is ok, water will do but extra seasoning will be needed

Instructions
 

1. Bacon

  • Place bacon in cold cast iron skillet.
    Turn burner to medium. Turn several times.
    Cook bacon until crisp.

2. Soup Pot

  • Open and empty jars of chicken broth into stock pot.
    Turn onto medium heat to allow warming up.

3. Veggies

  • While bacon is cooking, and broth is getting warm...
    Peel and dice onion.
    Peel and finely slice carrot.
    Rinse and finely chop celery.
    Peel, rinse and chop potatoes.
    Finely chop rosemary.
  • When bacon is crisp, remove it from pan.
    Place on paper towels to allow grease to drip off.
    Drain grease from pan into another container (not plastic), such as a mason jar, or small metal bowl (something that can withstand hot bacon grease).
  • Using the same cast iron skillet the bacon was cooked in, saute the onions, carrot and celery, still on medium heat. Add spoonfuls of bacon grease as needed.

Combine

  • Add rosemary and potatoes to warm stock pot. Increase temperature to medium/high.
    Ladle some broth into the cast iron skillet to de-glaze the pan, allowing all the flavors to release from the bottom of the pan.
    Pour the sauteed veggies and de-glazed mixture into the stock pot with the potatoes and broth.
    Taste the broth at this point and add salt, pepper, and/or more rosemary if needed.
    Boil potatoes until soft. Stir occasionally.
  • When potatoes are cooking, chop the cooked bacon and chives. Set aside in separate dishes to garnish later.
  • When potatoes are fully cooked, reduce temperature back to medium. Use a potato masher to coarsely mash the potatoes.
    Add the cream cheese to the soup, and use the potato masher to cut it into small pieces. Stir until the cream cheese is completely dissolved.
    Add about 2 tbs of chopped chives.
    Taste soup again, to see if any other seasonings are needed.

Serve

  • Serve this soup with crispy chopped bacon and fresh chives on top.
    Other ways to serve: Cheese is another popular topping. This soup would be great inside a nice sourdough bread bowl.