Potato Soup with Fried Almonds

I have a new favorite potato soup, and this is it. I am fickle when it comes to potato soup; I like so many of them. Certain dishes I make over and over again, and eventually hone in on a version to keep. These vary a little from time to time, but the bones (not literal bones, you understand) of the method will be the same. Much as I love potato soup, I cannot commit to one in this way. As with rice pudding, I am always susceptible to a different, appealing version. This one is to die for, though.

It is simple, it is elegant, it is delicious. (It is also prettier than the photo; soup so often looks murky in my pictures.) I spotted the recipe in a library book I've been keeping at work, because it is too heavy to carry home on the bus. I forget the name-I will have to add it after checking, but it is a large survey of modern Spanish regional cookery. This soup came from one Laura Lorca, niece of the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and it is an Andalucian recipe. Smitten as I was with that region when I visited (sadly, only once) the origin appealed.

The recipe called for cutting up the potatoes in a very specific, and rather odd way, so I did. I don't really understand why it should be important to cut the potatoes in this fashion. Now that I've done it though, and had such a good result, I will not want to be testing other methods to see if it's necessary. I wouldn't deal well with the disappointment if it fell short.

I should also mention that I did vary the recipe a wee bit, because I had all the ingredients in the house, sort of, just not in the precise form called for. I will tell you what I did, and where it varies, I will parenthetically add the original, so you can be authentic, if you wish. Here it is:

You need:

baking potatoes (Yukon Gold) 1 1/2 lbs
extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup
slivered almonds (blanched whole) 1/2 cup
garlic cloves, peeled 6 large
salt and pepper
homemade or good boxed chicken stock 4-5 cups
saffron, a pinch, pulverized in mortar
sherry vinegar 2 tsps
minced parsley
crumbled crisp bacon for garnish (shredded serrano ham or proscuitto)

Peel and cut the potatoes into irregular chunks this way: Insert the tip of a small sharp knife into each potato, and twist it, until a chunk 1 1/2" pops out. Continue until you have reduced all your potatoes to chunky rubble. Heat the olive oil in a heay pot, at least 3 qt size. Add the almonds and garlic, and cook them over a medium heat, until they are golden-about 5 minutes, being careful not to burn them. Remove to a coffee grinder or mini processor and pulverize.

Add the potatoes to the pan, and stir them around for a minute or two. Add the broth, and all but 2 tsps of the pulverized almond mix. Bring to a boil, and turn down to a simmer. Dissolve the saffron in about 2 tbsps of the soup, and let it sit for a minute or two. Add it to the soup, with salt and pepper. Cook for about 25 minutes, at which point you should be able to crush about half of the potatoes with the back of a big spoon. Do so.

Mix the vinegar with the remaining almond mix, and stir into the soup. Garnish each bowl with the chopped parsley and bacon (ham). Consume with a coarse thick country type bread.

I will just say that the chicken stock I used was a particulary nice batch, and I would be fussy about the sherry vinegar too. I slurped up every last drop of my 1/2 of this soup. I could have eaten more. It will serve 4 normal people.

Addendum: The book is called The New Spanish Table, and it is by Anya von Bremzen.

Comments

[Melissa]

Wow, that looks like a lovely recipe - I love the addition of almonds and saffron. When I lived in Spain I witnessed a similar cutting method for potatoes, and recently I think I have just run across an explanation in another book. Essentially cutting a potato like this results in a thick-thin structure for each chunk so that when the potatoes are cooked the thin part dissolves, thickening the stew or soup, while the thick part remains, giving body and texture. I suppose you could achieve the same thing by cutting some slices thick and some thin, but it's not quite as creative as cutting them like this :)

[lindy]

Thanks, Melissa. I'm glad to have the explaination for the potato method- it makes perfect sense, and I'm sure you are right. I'm pleased to have a reason to keep doing them this way for soup, as it is especially suited to my recently acquired "new used parer."

[pyewacket]

I love her other book, Please to the Table, so this cookbook is definitely on my desired list. Unfortunately, so are a lot of other things, including the Bernard Clayton bread book you mention below.

[Tania]

How interesting about the potato rubble! I can't say I've ever come across such a method of chopping potatoes; it makes me even more curious about the delicious-sounding soup!

[BOOTHBrandy26]

This topic is truly helpful! One day, thesis writing company facilitate me with writing thesis, which I was incapable to polish off due to individual causes. I advise you thesis writing service that will assist you in your university life. Cheer!

[college papers]

There are many guys who never complete essays themselves. That's really better to buy custom papers. Custom writing corporations take care of clients.

[Account Deleted]

A perfect soup for the cooling weather we've got creeping into Seattle. The Wednesday Chef gives this advice: "Make it, and your house, so cold when you first came home, will warm quickly with the scent of fried garlic, toasting almonds, and shreds of Serrano giving up their porky oils to the pan."
literature review