Potato Soup

Steps

1. Fry6 min
   medium, until crisp
   • bacon
   bacon, lifted out to drain with the fat left behind — the bacon returns at the end as a topping so it stays crisp; the fat is the soup's base, which is why this style needs no butter
2. Sweat5 min
   medium, in the bacon fat
   • onion
   • garlic
   onion until soft, garlic for the last thirty seconds — the smoky fat carries their flavor through the whole pot
3. Whisk1 min
   medium, one minute
   • flour
   • milk
   + flour over the vegetables until no dry streaks remain — a light roux built in place, enough body to keep the milk from reading watery, cooked briefly so it thickens without tasting raw
4. Simmer15 min
   medium-low, until fork-tender
   • potatoes
   • chicken stock
   + potatoes + stock at a gentle bubble — russets over waxy potatoes on purpose: they fray at the edges as they cook, and that frayed starch is half the soup's thickening
5. Mash2 min
   in the pot, partially
   about half the potatoes against the side — the mashed half makes it a soup, the intact half makes it potato soup; a full blend turns this style to wallpaper paste
6. Season3 min
   low, off the boil
   • black pepper
   • cheddar
   • sour cream
   + milk + salt + pepper warmed through, then cheese in handfuls off the heat, then sour cream — cheddar boiled breaks to grease and grain, and sour cream curdles at a simmer; both only ever meet a soup that has stopped bubbling
7. Top1 min
   • scallions
   with the bacon and scallions at the bowl — the point of holding them back is the contrast: hot smooth soup, cold sharp onion, crisp pork