Comforting and nourishing – German potato soup

 

Hello again! I hope everyone had a good start into 2016! Actually I’ve ment to report back here sooner, but the new year started with some left over work from the old one … 😦

Anyway, I don’t want to start the new complaining. I had great days with my family and friends, yummy food and I enjoyed to be mostly cooked for. We had time to think about the new year, plans, wishes, hopes, while the weather outside …

… let’s not talk about this either. The weather that makes you want to curl up on the sofa with a cozy blanket, drink tea and eat a warming bowl of soup. F. ex. this soup. A German classic that I neglected for a long time, but with my recent rediscovery of potatoes, memories of this dish came to my mind again, too.

 What can I say: It’s a nourishing bowl of comfort. It’s no fuss – at least for me exactly what I need now, after all the holiday feasting. You can cook it at the beginning of the week and enjoy a warm bowl of soup during the whole week.

Nothing spectacular about this, simply good!

If I had to formulate solely one wish for the new year this would be it.

German potato soup (3-4 p.)

ingredients
1 carrot, 1 stick of celeriac, 1 onion, 50 g bacon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 700 ml vegetable stock, 700 g potatoes (primarily waxy/medium starchy), 1 teaspoon oregano (or marjoram), 1 laurel leaf, salt and pepper, 1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 sausages
(For a vegetarian version leave out bacon and sausage or subsitute by some fried tofu cubes.)

preparation
Wash carrot and celeriac. Remove celeriac skin, peel onion (and carrot if you like to). Dice carrot, celeriac, onion and bacon. Peel potatoes and cut them into chunks.
Heat olive oil in a medium pot. Add bacon, carrots, celeriac and onion. Roast for a few minutes until they have browned. Add potatoes and fill up with stock. Add spices and bring to boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove laurel leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently mash some of the potatoes with a fork.
Heat a medium pan. Slice sausage and fry until it has slightly browned. Garnish soup with parsley and sausage and serve hot.