Baconssoise

I wanted to make a potato soup that would not be heavy or overwhelming, and I had a couple of leeks calling to me from the crisper, so I decided that a cold-weather version of vichyssoise would be yummy. And what better way to achieve the darker, more robust version than to add some bacon?! And of course, serve it hot.

5 strips unsmoked bacon
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 cup fino sherry
4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp thyme
splash heavy cream (about 1/4 cup)

First, render the bacon in a large saute pan. When it is very crispy, remove from pan with tongs and drain on paper towels. Set aside. In same pan, saute the shallots and leeks until very soft, about 7 minutes. Add sherry to deglaze the pan, and saute another 2 minutes.


Move leek mixture to a large soup pot. Add potatoes, stock, water, salt, pepper, thyme and celery seed. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are quite soft. While it's cooking, break up the crispy bacon into small crumbles, called lardons.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Add the cream and whisk in. Taste, and adjust seasonings (typically plenty of salt).

To plate, ladle hot soup into a bowl and garnish with lardons. You can also add snipped chive, but it's not really necessary.

Zucchini-Potato Latkes

This is a great side dish for summer, especially if you serve a cold soup such as gazpacho with it. You can amp up the protein quotient of the soup if you throw in a bunch of chick peas, and then you have a complete meal!

2 glasses good red or white wine, depending on the season and heat of the day
1 med-large zucchini, grated
2 med. red potatoes, grated
½ med yellow onion, finely diced
1 sm handful fresh parsley, minced
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
about 1/3 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs (Progresso)
salt and pepper to taste
spray oil (preferably olive oil – I use Pam)

Pour a glass of wine. Drink it while grating and mixing. Grate the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, toss, and let sit 7 minutes. Press liquid out through a sieve. Grate the potatoes and rinse with cold tap water. Sprinkle with salt, toss, let sit 7 minutes, and press liquid out thru sieve.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, yolk, and parsley, plus some salt and pepper. Mix zucchini, potatoes, and egg mixture in a large dry bowl. Resulting mixture should be pretty wet and gloppy. If it isn’t, add another egg. If it seems too wet, sprinkle in more breadcrumbs.

Pour another glass of wine. Drink while cooking. Heat a nonstick skillet and spray liberally with oil. Form patties in the pan with a spoon. Each should be no more than about 3 inches in diameter. Fry about 4 minutes over med to med-high heat, then turn and cook another 3 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure it isn’t burning. You want to fry it slowly enough so that the potato is cooked through; this might be aided by covering the pan. Collect all patties in a heated dish in the oven until all the mixture is used up. Serve with salt and sour cream or applesauce.