Savory Potato Broth

Name: Savory Potato Broth
Yield: About 4 quarts of soup base, enough for 2 batches or more of finished soups
Ingredients: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (6 cups); 2 teaspoons salt; 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups); 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups); 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 4 quarts water, heated to boiling; 3 bay leaves; 1 or 2 pieces outer rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano (2 or 3 inches square), rinsed (see box, page 66); 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste; A heavy-bottomed soup pot, saucepan, or Dutch oven, minimum 6-quart capacity, 8-quart preferable, with a cover

December 14, 2011

This versatile soup base is not really a broth, in the way my turkey broth is—that is, a clear liquid strained of all the ingredients that gave it flavor. In truth, the base starts cooking with several pounds of potatoes, carrots, and celery, and they stay in there. Yet, remarkably, it ends up light, clear, and clean-tasting, like a broth. To enjoy the clarity and consistency of the base, often I’ll add nothing more than rice, for texture and flavor. Onion and poached garlic make a flavorful yet light cream soup. On the other hand, I might fill the base with lots of textured ingredients, like mushrooms and barley, or lentils and ditalini pasta. And vegetables that break down during cooking and melt away, such as parsnip or winter squash and chestnut, utterly transform the texture.

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