Double Potato Chowder with Bacon

Smoky, creamy and delicious... this hearty soup is great with crusty bread and a warm blanket.

Double Potato Chowder with Bacon

Ingredients

8 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander 

2 tablespoons flour
6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced (roughly 1½ cups)
4 medium Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, diced (roughly 2½ cups)
1 cup half-and-half
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional Toppings:
The crisped bacon
Grated sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped scallions or chives (or both!)
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, crisp the bacon over medium heat. Once crisp, remove it from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
To the bacon grease in the pan, add the onion and celery. Cook for 5 minutes and then add in the garlic, spices, and pinch of salt. Cook for another minute.
Stir in the flour until it has coated all the vegetables and cook for another 1-2 minutes (you want to cook out that raw flour taste).
Slowly stream in the broth, stirring constantly to pick up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
Bring the broth to a simmer and then add in the sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
Simmer the soup, partially covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the potatoes are fall-apart tender and the broth is slightly thickened.
Using an immersion blender, blitz the chowder a bit to break up some of the potatoes, but don’t go overboard! We want this to be chunky and hearty. We like big chunks of potatoes here. You can also use a traditional blender – put roughly 1-2 cups of the chowder into the blender and blend until smooth. Stir this back into the pot of chowder.
Stir in the half-and-half and season, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Be warned that you’ll likely need to add quite a bit of salt – potatoes require a lot of seasoning!
Stir half the crisped bacon into the chowder, reserving the other half for serving.

Adapted from yes to yolks