St Patricks Day Potato Soup With Pesto Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine potatoes, celery, onion, water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool slightly. Place half of the potato mixture in a blender; cover and puree. Repeat with remaining potato mixture; set aside. , In the same kettle, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk; bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Return potato puree to the pan and heat through. Garnish individual servings with sour cream and cheese if desired.

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE CRÈME FRAICHE: gently warm the heavy cream. Remove it from the heat and combine it with the buttermilk or sour cream in a glass bowl. Mix well, cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Give the mixture a good stir once it has thickened, then cover and refrigerate. It will thicken even more once chilled.
• TO MAKE THE PESTO: crush the garlic with the salt and place the mixture in a blender or food processor along with the basil, olive oil and nuts. Blend until the ingredients are finely pureed. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the basil mixture into a small mixing bowl. Fold in the grated cheese and blend well. Carefully stir in the crème fraiche. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• FOR THE SOUP: melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, leek, onion and celery and cook gently, reducing the heat after a minute or two, until the vegetables are quite tender, about 5 minutes. Do not allow them to brown at all. Add the potatoes, chicken broth and cream. If the potatoes aren't totally submerged in the liquid, add a little water. Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and tender. Puree the potato mixture using a hand held blender or a blender or food processor. Stir in the buttermilk. Wipe the saucepan clean and pour the pureed soup through a fine sieve back into the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup while it is still very hot into soup bowls and place a good dollop of pest in the centre of each serving. Run a toothpick through the pest to drag it out decoratively over the surface of the soup.
• Great Potatoes.Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh.