Potato Soup with Fried Almonds

This potato soup with fried almonds gets its creaminess from the Yukon Gold potatoes, which seem to melt into the broth.

This potato and fried almond soup is actually pretty light, but tastes so rich and hearty. The almonds in the soup are fried with garlic and then ground before adding them to the soup while it is simmering. The soup is also flavored with prosciutto or Serrano ham and a bit of saffron.

You reserve a small amount of the ground almonds and toss them with some sherry vinegar for serving.

This soup is incredible. We pretty much fought over the leftovers. Banish any preconceptions that you have about potato soup from your mind, and make this soup. It's freaking good. Even the leftover broth was outstanding. You will feel so "chef-y" after making this, and with good reason.

This month, the Soup Saturday Swappers, created by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, are making soups with almonds, a theme chosen by Sneha's Recipes.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Food 52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change The Way You Cook. I bought it 2 1/2 years ago, but for some reason (probably because there is always some new shiny thing attracting my attention), it sat on my bookshelf. After making this soup, I now will be dipping into this book a lot more. It's a compilation of gorgeous and delicious recipes from cookbook authors, chefs, and bloggers. You might just "need" a copy.

The original version of this recipe appeared from the award winning Anya von Bremzen's 2005 book The New Spanish Table.

I'm so excited about this soup! I tried this soup because it contained almonds, and therefore fit our theme. I will make this soup again and again because it is amazing. It was a beyond wonderful discovery.

P.S. If you're wondering about the crusty bread sitting there, it's from this recipe.

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the almond-themed soups from the rest of our group.

soup, potatoes, saffron, almonds

soup

Spanish

Yield: 4 servingsAuthor: Karen Kerr

Potato Soup with Fried Almonds

ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup (75 grams) whole, sliced, or slivered blanched almonds. I used sliced. 
• 6 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 ounces diced Serrano ham or prosciutto
• 4 cups chicken stock or low sodium broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of saffron, ground 
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley

instructions

1. Dice the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch chunks
2. In a 3 or 4 quart sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and garlic and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the almonds and garlic to a bowl. 
3. Add the ham to the pan and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring, for another minute. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once the pan is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. 
4. While the soup is simmering, process the almonds and garlic in a food processor. I used a mini food processor. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the ground almonds and garlic, and add the rest to the simmering soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Remove 1/4 cup of the broth from the soup and pour it into a mini bowl. Add the saffron and steep for 2 minutes. Add it to the soup and continue to simmer, partially covered, for 35 minutes. The potatoes should be somewhat disintegrated. 
6. Using a potato masher, partially mash the potatoes in the soup to create an uneven and rough texture, and some of the potatoes further disintegrate to create a creamier texture. The goal is to have irregular chunks of potatoes as well as fully disintegrated potatoes. 
7. To serve, add the vinegar to the reserved ground almonds and garlic and stir it into the soup. Add the parsley, cook for a minute, and adjust the salt, pepper, and vinegar. Serve. 

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