Creamy Light Potato Soup

Doug is a great lover of potatoes. This poor, dirty starch is treated with much reverence in our household, especially for weekend breakfasts. When I came across a potato-y soup recipe in the recent Cooking Light, I was intrigued by a more unusual ingredient: cauliflower, added to reduce the amount of starch & up the veggie content.

Last Saturday, Doug and I took a break from our West Wing marathon to tackle the recipe. We made a few adjustments, adding mushrooms and using roasted garlic grape-seed oil in place of olive oil on our veggies. Maybe 1/3 of the mushrooms made it into the soup–they were so delectable that we ate most of them while cooking!

Creamy, Light Potato Soup, Cooking Light

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound cubed peeled baking potato (about 2)
1 pound cubed Yukon gold potato (about 4)
5 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 bay leaf
1 pound cauliflower, cut into florets (about 1/2 head)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
1/2 cup fat-free fromage blanc (such as Vermont Creamery) or sour cream
2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, thyme, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.

3. While potatoes simmer, combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, cauliflower, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; toss to coat. Roast at 450° for 30 minutes or until browned, turning once.

4. Place cauliflower mixture and milk in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour cauliflower mixture into a large bowl. Add half of potato mixture to blender; pulse 5 to 6 times or until coarsely chopped. Pour into bowl with cauliflower mixture. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. Place cauliflower-potato mixture in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 cup green onions, and fromage blanc; stir until fromage blanc melts. Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Top evenly with remaining green onions, cheese, and bacon.

One last addition: I stirred about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese into the soup before serving. Not quite as low fat, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Final note: don’t forget the bacon, turkey or otherwise.