Potato Chowder With Caraway Cheese

serves 4
Recipe from Betty Rosbottom

Bacon, onions and potatoes simmered in stock and milk are enriched with a final addition of creamy Havarti cheese studded with caraway seeds.

Read more about this recipe in Sunday Soups.

instructions

1. Sauté bacon in a large, heavy pot set over medium heat until browned and crisp, for 3 to 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour out and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon drippings. 

2. Add onion and celery to the bacon drippings in the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, for 4 to 5 minutes. Add diced potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute.
 
3. Add chicken stock and milk to pot and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook soup at a simmer until the potatoes are tender, for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let soup come to a boil. (Soup can be prepared to this point 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat over low heat and proceed with recipe.)

4. When ready to serve, add the cheese, a little at a time, to the hot soup, stirring until melted after each addition.

5. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour with a fork to make a paste. Whisk this mixture into the soup, a little at a time, and cook until completely blended, for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste soup and season with kosher salt, as needed, and with freshly ground pepper. To serve, ladle soup into 4 bowls and sprinkle each serving with chopped bacon and chives.

Betty Rosbottom, Sunday Soup, Chronicle Books (2008).