Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

• *3 bacon strips, diced
• *1 small onion, chopped
• *1 clove garlic, minced
• *3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• *1 teaspoon salt
• *1 teaspoon dried basil
• *1/2 teaspoon pepper
• *3 cups chicken broth
• *2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• *1 cup half-and-half cream
• *1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• *Shredded Cheddar cheese
• *Minced fresh parsley

METHOD

Bake potatoes in the oven, skin and cut into pieces. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

VERDICT

Believe it or not, this soup really does taste like baked potato. It has a nice flavour and is very warming on a cold day. The hot pepper sauce adds a nice little kick to the soup and the bacon on top is a nice extra flavour. With a non-soup lover in the household, I was surprised when there was none left-over and the meal was requested again a few weeks later! The only downside is having to bake the potatoes ahead of time, which while it does make the flavour nicer, adds to the cooking time.

Score: 90/100