I’m so happy we are past the latest arctic blast. I’m tired of being cold and feeling under-the-weather. Grocery shopping was not high on my to-do list, but I was craving a hearty soup. So I decided to whip one up with ingredients on hand. A hearty golden potato soup is the result of throwing together items I consider to be kitchen staples.
Golden Potato Soup
3 medium onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
3 lbs. potatoes, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
4 cups chicken stock
1⁄2 lb. mushrooms
1 cup cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
In a large heavy pot, caramelize the onions on low heat in olive oil and butter – season with a little salt and pepper. When the onions are a beautiful golden color – about 15-20 minutes – add carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.

Cook for another 5 minutes and then add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. (I dropped in 4 Parmesan cheese rinds I had saved in the freezer since I didn’t have any Parmesan cheese. Those will melt into the soup, thicken it and give it nice flavor.) Turn off the heat.

While the potatoes cooked, I chopped baby portabella mushrooms and browned them in butter. I cooked them separate from the other vegetables because I knew I would pureé those and didn’t want to include the mushrooms.

Remove bay leaves (and Parmesan cheese rinds). I wanted the soup to be chunky, so I pureéd it with my immersion blender for about 5 seconds – just enough to thicken. Add the mushrooms, cream ( I didn’t have cream, but added 1⁄2 cup Half & Half and a little sour cream) and Parmesan cheese if you have it. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with chopped scallions, cilantro or parsley.

Kitchen staple items have a long shelf-life in either the pantry or refrigerator/freezer. For me, they include onions, carrots, celery, garlic, canned tomatoes, dried and canned beans, pasta, rice, potatoes, dried herbs, stock, butter or olive oil, flour, sugar, salt and pepper. With those items on hand, I can always whip up a meal.