13 November 2008

Chunky Potato & Swiss Chowder


We all have a list of comforting dishes in our repertoire that we pull out when the going gets rough. My life is a little up in the air and I find myself in need of some serious comfort food. What happens when life hands you lemons...you don't add them to this comforting soup....wink...wink...You pull up your socks and bring out the big guns. In my case it is my immersion blender. It's creamy, comfort soup making time!!!

Nothing to me says home cooking like a nice warm soup and a slice of homemade bread fresh from the oven and slathered in butter on a cold, dreary day. To each of us comfort food would mean something different. Perhaps it is that dish your mom or your Great Aunt Gertie made you as a child, it may be something that reminds you of a great restaurant or a period in your life. Whatever it is I suggest you eat your comfort foods often over the winter months!!!!

There have been many versions of squash soup on the Internet lately..this is my version!! I have made this particular soup for years with the original recipe coming from Cooking Light magazine. This makes it perfect for Ruth's Kitchen Experiments event Bookmarked Recipes .

**Chunky Potato & Swiss Chowder**

cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced leeks (about 2 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cubed, peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-1/2 lbs)
1 cup cubed carrot (about 1/2 lb)
1 cup cubed yellow squash (such as butternut or Hubbard)
2 (14 oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup hot cooked wild rice
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
chopped fresh parsley
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Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add leek and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in potato and next 4 ingredients (potato through bay leaves); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Discard bay leaves.

Place half of the potato mixture in a blender, and process until smooth. (In my case I used my immersion blender and blended it right in the pot). Return pureed potato mixture to pan; stir in rice and the remaining ingredients except parsley. Cook over medium heat until cheese melts. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Serves 4 - 5
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36 comments:

  1. Ooohhh, what a comforting and highly pleasing chowder! I've never made chowder myself, but I'll have to try very soon...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. comfort food at its best, the perfect thing to eat during a cold evening
    i make a leek and potato soup almost every week now that it's gotten cold, another comforter

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  3. Yum! What a delicious-sounding soup!

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  4. Definitely comforting! Sounds delicious and love the photo!

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  5. Very interesting soup, Val. I was nodding along with the leeks and potatoes, and then got to the creative addition of squash and wild rice. This does look VERY comforting!

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  6. What do you mean by Swiss cheese? Gruyere, Emmental, Sbrintz, Appenzeller...Although all of them would do really well in this hearty soup

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  7. POTATOES!! Yay!

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  8. mmm... looks so rich and comforting... :)

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  9. I too am attached to my immersion blender at this time of year. I love to make soup on Sundays, using up bits and pieces of what has accumulated in the fridge during the week, and often the combinations are a bit odd until they get whizzed together into a smooth soup.

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  10. Loving the look and sound of that chowder! All those yummy ingredients. I'll bookmark this - thank you!

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  11. Oh my goodness! Your food phtos are amazing! And your food challenges sound like so much fun!

    I don't think I could get along w/out my immersion blender either. ;o)

    Thansk for the visit & the nice comment!

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  12. So - when I first looked at this recipe - I loved the title. I'm thinking - yes - this is great - but then, I only noticed 1/2 cup of Swiss cheese...I'd totally have to up that to ohhh, 2 cups or so - lol. That's just me - but this is a killer recipe. I love it!

    -DTW
    www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

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  13. Chowder, mmmm! I like mine with a bit of smoked fish, delish!

    Cheers
    David

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  14. What's wrong Val? Could I help? Need an urgent delivery of Iberian Acorn Ham sent to Canada????? ;D

    Hope it's just a small sloope and things go back to normal soon. I'm here for you :D.

    Have that big bowl of delicious soup, take a good nap after, go for a walk in those beautiful forests and life will be back in colours again right after. Love you girl :D

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  15. What a lovely bowl of soup! I like how it has wild rice in it, and the inclusion of 1/2 and 1/2 is dreamy. This is really lovely; I could use a bowl of comfort today. Hope it helped smooth out your day a bit. :-)

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  16. Your soup sounds so yummy and comforting! Perfect for these rainy cold fall days!

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  17. i am looking forward to a week of comfort food when i return to CT to see my mama in one week! this soup sounds lovely. and what is that delicious bread I see lurking in the back of the photo? yum!

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  18. This soup does to trick to bring me comfort but all your kind comments make everything look rosy. Thank you for all your support...all chocolate and Iberian ham accepted!!

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  19. Comfort food means different things to different people and I see you have made the potatoes the star again...bring on more comfort food Val!

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  20. I love that it has squash and potatoes! Comfort, indeed!

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  21. I've been in need of comfort foods myself of late and just made a squash soup myself. And though I have only had an immersion blender for a few years now, I will never be without again.

    Lovely meal Val.

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  22. You had me at "chunky potato." This is a great recipe, Val.

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  23. Oh yah...definitely comforting.

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  24. Oh yes this sounds so wonderful, I can taste that soup and see the bread I'd like to have with it...mmmmmm!

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  25. I love tater based soups!

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  26. Thats so creamy.A surprise for you in my blog:)

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  27. Oh my, this is right up my alley...I'm sure it's just delicious and comforting!

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  28. there are some foods that i like chunky, and chowder is one of 'em. (milk, not so much.) lovely recipe, val. :)

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  29. Oh man, this looks yummy. I made a potato soup a couple of weeks ago and this looks like it would top that...I can't wait to try it out...swiss...oh yea baby!
    Jaime

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  30. Sounds wonderful Val! This is similar to my suash soup, but I have never thought of making it creamy, I will have to give it a go!

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  31. It looks delicious Valli! YUM!
    Hope you aren't being thrown any more lemons! :)

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  32. I'm a sucker for comfort foods, and this soup just convinced me (more than ever) that now is the time to invest in an immersion blender. Thanks for the push!

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  33. hey there. so i'm not really into baking (my sis is) but you know i really want to get involved in world hunger initiatives. how can i help? let me know... im thinking of even starting another group or charity event...

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  34. Oh, I hear you - can there be *anything* better than homemade cheese and bread? Love the decadent sound of the chowder...

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  35. Hi Val, I love this recipe, a great comforting dish for the cold weather!

    Thanks for sending this into bookmarked recipes

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  36. Thank you so much for this recipe - it's been great for lunch. I love using my stick blender - it's so much easier, less messy and I'm so much less likely to get scalded trying to puree soups.

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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