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Day 867 – Jeremy’s Kitchen

The following recipe came to me via the “Tasting Table.” I made a double batch yesterday and it came out perfect (with a couple caveats).

  1. Like most recipes  i find, the timings are too short. Especially when it comes to smoke-roasting the potatoes. My oven temp is near bang-on according to my IR thermometer, but my potatoes had to go for 2 hours before they were truly ready to puree.
  2. Unless your immersion blender says “Husqvarna” on the side you will need to cube the potatoes before trying to blenderize them. Despite my very good immersion blender (honestly the best kitchen tool i own)  even the smaller taters had to be fished from the broth and cubed before they would puree properly. IMPORTANT: Tim’s comment below is very true… do not over-blenderize if using an immersion blender or a food processor. I stopped once the cubes were gone… the soup maintains a fine porridge texture. If you’re going for “velvet” a ricer or some sort of food mill is the way to go. Also experimentation involving peeling first, peeling & cubing first, is in order. I suspect cubing first might limit surface area exposure in the steamer/smoker, but peeling first would sure be easier than peeling after.

The smoke-roasting worked perfectly. I did remove the steamer/smoker from the oven once to stir the wood chips and re-heat them to smoking temp. The kitchen smelled wonderful.

Smoked Potato Soup

Recipe adapted from Cedric Maupillier, Mintwood Place, Washington, D.C.

Yield: Serves 4

Cook Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

  • INGREDIENTS

2 cups hickory-wood chips

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 large), each pricked a few times with a fork

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 large leek, white part only, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 cups water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup whole milk

1½ tablespoons white miso paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

1½ cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the wood chips in the bottom of a large stockpot and set over high heat. Once the wood chips become fragrant, after about 5 minutes, place a steamer insert over the chips and set the potatoes in the steamer. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until a paring knife easily slips into the center of the potatoes, about 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly, then peel the potatoes.

2. Meanwhile, make the soup base: In a stockpot set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, leek and celery and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in the water, cream and milk, and then stir in the miso, salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to almost a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

3. Add the potatoes, buttermilk and sherry vinegar and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth (alternatively, blend in a blender, working in batches, then return the soup to the stockpot). Warm gently over medium heat. Serve hot.

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