Parmesan, Rosemary, and Potato Soup

Any soup sounds delicious on a cold, rainy day.  And while I probably wouldn't mind being one of Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women while creating a winter stew, if I were being choosy, I'd rather have a place on his 1975 album, Blood on the Tracks. 

So, for a rainy day, I'll take his "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts." 

I've seen a lot of different recipes for potato soups, using a variety of stocks, cheeses, and meats.  I like Smitten Kitchen's Baked Potato Soup with bacon and sour cream, and you can't go wrong with a Julia Child creation, such as her Cream of Leek and Potato Soup (thanks for posting this, Food Network!).

I've made potato soup using both beef and chicken stock bases, thickened and smoothed with different proportions of milks and creams.  But today, I wanted a really cheesy potato soup.  So, my recipe features cream cheese in lieu of any milk, heavy cream, half & half, sour cream, and/or crème fraîche. 

Leftovers alert:  This makes a lot of soup!

Ingredients:

--1 clove garlic

--1 medium yellow onion

--4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

--Two 8 oz packages cream cheese (you can also use neufchâtel, which is a bit creamier than traditional cream cheese)

--2 c. freshly grated parmesan

--Approx. 48 oz. chicken broth (you can make your own, of course, but this is one ingredient that I typically just buy)

--12 medium-sized red potatoes

--3 sprigs of rosemary

--salt & pepper

Mince garlic clove and coarsely chop yellow onion.  In a large stockpot, heat olive oil on low-medium heat, and add garlic and onions.  Sauté until golden colored (approx. 5-7 minutes), then remove from heat.

Skin and peel the red potatoes.  Then cut into approx. 1-inch pieces (to do this, cut the potato in half, and then quarter each half).  Add to stockpot, and pour in approx. 48 oz. chicken broth, or until the potatoes are just covered (you should be able to see the potatoes just peeking out of the top of the broth).  Bring to a medium boil and stir--remember, the sautéed garlic and onion mixture should still be in the pot.  Cover pot and boil for approx. 35 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.  Turn off heat.

Now for the cheese: Cut the cream cheese (two 8 oz. packages) into cubes and add to stockpot, mixing sporadically.  Next add 2 c. grated parmesan, stir, and allow to melt into mixture.  Now add salt and pepper to taste (probably about 2-4 tsp. of each, depending on your preference).  Then chop up your rosemary leaves (I use the rosemary I grow on my back porch, and I *love* that it lives through winter), and add the rosemary pieces to the pot and stir. 

Finally, using a potato masher, mash all of the ingredients in the stock pot as if you're making mashed potatoes.  This makes the soup creamy and smooth with just a few small chunks of potato (exactly how I like it). 

Serve in bowls with a sprig of rosemary for garnish, paired with a crusty French baguette.  Enjoy!