Potato Soup – Journey From A Polish Kitchen

When I was young and I told my friends that my mother made potato soup, they all thought this sounded rather weird & tasteless.

Whereas, it was one of my favourite soups and like most Polish soups, it is not a purée, it has chucks of potato in it.

This following is based on my memory of my mother’s recipe.

For the best results, I use rosół (chicken bouillon) or homemade chicken stock when I have it.

Chop the smoked bacon into small squares.
Slowly heat the bacon in a heavy bottomed pan or good Teflon red spot non stick pan without oil.
Let all the fat cook out.
Chop the onions into small pieces and fry them with the onions.
You want the onions well browned, even some slightly charred.

Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks.
Fry them lightly in oil so all sides are done.
Mix the potatoes with the smoked bacon and onions in a large pan.
Add the chicken stock or rosół.
Chop the parsley leaves and add them with the allspice, bay leaf and peppercorns.
Add 1.5 to 2 litres of water and bring this to the boil.
Reduce the heat, put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for around 15 minutes.
You are aiming for cooked pieces of potatoes – do not let it disintegrate to a pulp!
Garnish with chopped flat leaved parsley when serving.

Served here in Royal Stafford – Blossom Time from the 1950s

Looking through other recipes for this soup, I found that often some soured cream was added at the end just before serving.

So add 3 to 4 tablespoons of soured cream to some slightly cooled soup in a little dish and then mix this into the pan and serve.

Served here in Royal Doulton – Burgundy – 1959 to 1981.

Both are super – but my vote is for my mother’s version!

Tag: Potato Soup