Simple potato soup

This soup is such a classic in Polish cuisine. Potato soup must surely be the easiest dish to make! I remember having it at least once a week as a child. It wouldn’t necessarily be blended as, in those days, clear soups seemed to be more popular in Poland. I only started blending mine when I moved to UK (fifteen years ago!) and prefer them that way. Fusion cuisine, eh? It’s also much easier to feed the kids as there is NOTHING that they can take out of their bowl!! So, yes, a winner! Ok, so they can just refuse to eat but hey, I’m ready to take that chance...

I used a parsley root in this recipe which is as common in Poland as parsnip is in UK. They look very similar (parsley root tends to be smaller and thinner), smell similar as well and I know plenty of fellow Poles who took one for the other. If you can’t get hold of one just use parsley leaves. I get mine in my local Polish/Eastern European shop. I’m pretty sure you can find one near you! Or online. You can find everything online these days!

Also, in this recipe, I used white pepper and pink Himalayan salt but you don’t have to. I sprinkled some dried chilli flakes on top to give it a bit of warmth (it was a chilli day yesterday) without altering the dish. Hope you enjoy it!

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, sliced

1 celery stick, sliced

1 carrot, sliced (I left the skin on, just scrubbed it clean)

1 parsley root, sliced (not peeled, the same as the carrot)

5 potatoes, peeled, cut in fours

1l stock or enough to cover all the veg

Salt and pepper to season

1. Heat up the oil in the pan. 

2. Add the onion and celery stick and fry on medium heat until the onion turns translucent.

3. Add the carrot and parsley root and warm up for a minute or two. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t catch or turn crispy. 

4. Add potatoes, again, warm them through for a minute. 

5. Add stock and leave to cook for approximately 30 minutes on medium heat or until all the veg is soft. 

6.  Once the veg has softened up and cooked through, turn the heat off and leave the soup to cool down. 

7. Blend everything until smooth, warm up again and season to taste. 

8. Serve with some chilli flakes and buttered slices of sourdough bread.