I Swear It Isn't Bad For You Super Simple Potato Soup

This simple rustic potato soup is unbelievably delicious. It tastes like much guiltier cousins, say cream of potato soup, but without packing the caloric punch of its heavyweight relatives.

The key to its down-homey goodness is from one oft-overlooked ingredient: the humble hambone. Your local butcher should be able to supply you with some, likely with a little meat and a little fat attached, for hardly anything at all--I think I got a pound for less than $3. This recipe's delicious yet-not-too-fatty flavor comes from cooking with a hambone, about 1 inch of bone for every serving (and cut into inch long pieces--your butcher can cut it for you). Alternatively, pieces of ham can be used. When purchasing your ham, though, be careful to see that it is naturally cured rather than chocked full of artificial chemicals and preservatives.

Remember, too, a little goes a long way. Also, if you are using ham pieces rather than bone, or your bone has a lot of fat on it, simply use a spoon to dip out excess fat as it rises to the surface, or premptively remove fat from the pieces you put in. A little fat in this recipe isn't going to hurt--in fact, it is what gives it part of its richness, but a little bit goes a long way. The following proportions make roughly four servings.

I Swear It Isn't Bad For You Super Simple Potato Soup

Six to Eight Medium Size Potatoes, Unpeeled and Chopped into Small Pieces
Four 1" Pieces of Ham Bone or Pieces of Ham
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Skim or 2% Milk

Don't peel your potatoes! You're getting rid of most of the vitamin content when you do. Instead, I wash mine in a little soapy water with a scour and then rinse very thoroughly. Chop them into about 1" square peices, cover completely with water, and bring to a boil. You'll want to add your ham bone now, several turns of the pepper mill, and salt. It is usually better to salt this recipe towards the end, though--salting it at the beginning, before the ham has given up its flavor, can lead you to oversalt this dish.

And by the way--if you don't own a pepper mill for freshly ground black pepper, invest in one. Peppercorns are not very expensive, and if you buy a reusable mill you'll find the flavor it adds is worth making the switch to freshly ground pepper.

After the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, mash them in the pot with a whisk or just with a wooden spoon. This isn't a recipe you want smooth as a cream soup--some chunks of potato still in there compliment its hearty down home taste. Continue cooking until it has reduced to a pretty thick consistency--be your own judge--and once it has, remove from heat and stir in the milk. It doesn't take much, but it will lighten up the color and give it a creamer consistency as well, and the slight sweetness of the milk also lends itself well. All in all, the cooking time should be about 25-30 minutes plus at most ten minutes prep--just washing and cutting the potatoes.

Here, I've served it with a simple meal consisting of wasabi salmon patties (recipe forthcoming), spinach with vinegar and garlic, and fresh baby carrots. You can cut your potatoes and put your soup on, mix and make the salmon patties and cook the spinach all in the time it takes your soup to cook, making this a simple, delicious and delightful 30 minute three pot meal.

I Like My Recipes Healthy, Cheap and Easy

Welcome to the "I Like My Recipes Healthy, Cheap and Easy" blog. This blog is in overwhelming response to requests for my quick and easy eating solutions, that is, my recipes.

I cook with five basic principles:

1. My ingredients should not require someone with an advanced degree in chemistry create them.
2. My food should be delicious.
3. My food should contribute, not take away from, my quality of life.
4. Unless I really want to spend all day cooking and cleaning, my recipes should be simple to make so I can taste what they are made of and not have to wash ten pots for one dish.
5. I should be able to eat like a gourmet without breaking the bank.
   

That being said, life is a game of give and take. You eat healthy 98% of the time so you don't have to flog yourself like Dimsdale when you give into temptation and have take-out one night. So, occasionally you will find the recipe here that pushes the limits of those principles, or at least (1), (3) and (4), but rarely. I promise you, though, that everything you find here should be delicious.

Sometimes you'll get full meals, but mostly I'll be providing you recipes for single dishes, things you can whip up in a hurry for dinner guests or things that are perfect to make the night before in order to have a hearty and healthy packed lunch. Also, these recipes often pull from the same base ingredients which means you don't have to have a shelf full of spices growing old because you only use them once in a blue moon. Instead, using a pretty standard répertoire you can create dishes with enough variety that you and your discerning palate don't get bored with what is on the dinner plate each night.

Also, a YouTube Channel is in the works to demonstrate some of the techniques and dishes that are given here, as well as some bonus recipes are well. I'll let you know once that has been launched. In the meantime, I leave you with one of my most coveted recipes (and most often handed out), my Red Lentil and Smoked Paprika Soup. This soup is heavy on umami--the combination of salt, the smokiness of the paprika, and the balsamic vinegar make this soup an absolute cheap and easy hit.

And just a quick note--you can often find smoked paprika much cheaper at Middle Eastern or Eastern European food stores than you can in the grocery store, but rest assured, this is a recipe you won't mind eating a couple of times a month and smoked paprika will resurface in some other recipes in the near future.

Red Lentil & Smoked Paprika Soup

Long Version:

1.5 cups Red Lentils

½ cup brown rice

4 cups water (add more as water reduces for a soupier soup)

½ white or yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

2 small tomatoes

2-4 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or rehydrated--to rehydrate soak dried mushrooms in cool water 30 minutes)

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (more to taste)

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

Short Version:

1.5 cups Red Lentils

½ cup brown rice

4 cups water

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (more to taste)

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

(You can also lose the brown rice and reduce the cooking time by 20 minutes, but it won't be a complete protein)

Combine rice and water and boil for 20 minutes. Then combine all remaining ingredients except balsamic vinegar and cook until lentils are cooked (20 minutes more or so). Add a dash of balsamic vinegar to pot after heat is turned off and add teaspoon on top of each serving when serving (or when you put it into your lunch box). This should make two very generous servings or three smaller ones. In case you want to increase the recipe, just add more lentils and rice, then salt and smoked paprika to taste.