Bennigan’s Baked Potato Soup
September 22, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Quick and Easy
So, here it is, the first day of fall…80 degrees here in Texas but that isn’t the point..it is now, quite officially…potato soup weather.
I grew up with potato soup. Not this potato soup but my mom’s version..the one SHE grew up with..and she was born in 1918. I hardly ever deviate from that recipe, my comfort food both when I was a kid and as an adult. But this recipe may be…just a tiny bit better than my mom’s recipe. If not in memories then in taste, anyway. By baking the potatoes in the oven they have a roasted flavor, stronger than when they are boiled and stronger than when they are microwaved, too.
I have great memories of Bennigan’s. I had my first legal drink at the one out by Six Flags in 1978 at my 18th birthday steak dinner. I am so out of the loop though, that I did not know they had filed bankruptcy.
This is not a delicate potato soup at all..It is robust and can hold up to garlic bread or onion rolls with ease. It is a great side with a corned beef sandwich, or on it’s own with a hunk of garlic bread and a salad.
You don’t have to put the bacon fat in if you are freaky about fat but you will be missing alot of taste that way.
Bennigan’s Baked Potato Soup
5 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and stabbed with a knife in the centers
6 tablespoons butter
2 finely chopped onions
4 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 cups Pacific Free Range Organic chicken broth
6 cups whole milk or half and half
3 tablespoons bacon fat
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
Chopped scallions
Sour cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake potatoes 1 hour or until they are tender when pierced. Peel.
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium low heat. Stir in onions and garlic; cover and cook 10 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add 2/3 of the potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add the chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the bacon fat.
Cut the remaining potatoes in small cubes.Add to the soup.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, and scallions.
8 servings
Image: Marye Audet
Hey Potato Ho, check you out! Love this recipe Ms. Duchess Grace.
LOL!
our weather is changing exactly on the date it seems …..
I made a great Mulligatawny in the last couple of days…and now this…mmmm….a must try ….. along with a Peasant Bread I saw today….
Sounds awesome Marye! Any preference on type of potato?
You know I have never tried this potato soup. You knew the economy was going to h*** at a even faster rate when they filed for bankruptcy.
Vee- that would be perfect!
Karen- I am able to get Yukon Gold or Russets..I just used the russets.
Courtney- you should try this. I know..I miss Bennigans!
ok, had this for lunch yesterday… do you know how hard it is to come up with half lb of bacon when you can’t quit eating it? Anyways, is this supposed to be a thin soup, or did I do something wrong? Very yummy, very taste-filled, but was hoping for a thicker, creamier base… (I totally could have done it wrong, though…)
Hmmm…This was thinner than my ususal potato soup but creamy and thick…You mashed part of the potatoes, right?
The only other thing is that I used Goat milk…you could use half and half…or thicken with flour
yup, mashed the potatoes. Thinkin’ next time I’ll try adding some cornstarch in the last batch of milk added in. It was very good. Everyone had at least seconds… (well, there was no bacon seconds… I ate it all… ::blush::)
Does anybody have the recipe to Bennigan’s Asian Pacific Noodle Bowl? It was to die for!