Perogie Soup

 

 

I was never a big fan of soups until I started making them.  I find choosing the ingredients and blending them all together to be really fun. One of my favourite things to eat is potatoes so I thought I should try making them into a soup.  

At first I had planned on just making a plain potato soup but then when I decided to put the kielbasa in I realized that the soup smelled like perogies.  I am happy to say that it also tastes like a delicious, cheesy perogie!

 Ingredients:

12 Small/Medium Russet Potatoes
5  Cloves of Garlic
225g Kielbasa Sausage
900ml Unsalted Chicken Broth
250ml Starchy Water (from potatoes)
1 Medium Yellow Onion
6 TB Margarine (I used low-calorie becel)
6 TB White Flour
1/2 to 1 cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

1.  Fill a pot with water and add the peeled and quartered potatoes.  Add the garlic to the water.  Bring the water up to a boil and then turn the burner down to medium.  The potatoes are done once a fork slides into them easily.

2.  While the potatoes are boiling add some oil to another pot, this is the one the soup will end up in.  Fry the sausage and onion until they are carmelized.  Remove the sausage and onion from the pan but keep the oil in the bottom.

3.  Now you are going to make a roux.  Melt the margarine in the pot and then add the flour.  This will create a thick paste.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until fully combined.  Continue to stir until it begins to thicken.  It will thicken up to a thin gravy-like consistency.  Add the cheese and continue to stir.

4.  Once the potatoes are done, drain the water, but keep 1 cup of the starchy potato water.  Add the drained potatoes to the pot and blend.  I used an emulsifier which we just purchased and it worked super well!  If you don't have one you can put the mixture into the blender and then return it to the pot.

5.  Once it is fully blended add the sausage and onion.  At this point you will want to add salt and pepper to taste.  We didn't want to salt before this point because the sausage and cheese would add saltiness to the soup.

Tear off a piece of yummy bread and enjoy!