Kids Cook: Potato Soup

Every Wednesday the Hub hosts Kids Cook, a weekly drop-in opportunity for our youngest community members to join us in preparing a delicious, easy meal while learning essential kitchen skills. 

One of the young chefs
practicing his knife skills

This month Georgia, our Youth Educator, led the group through the steps of making a simple and tasty potato soup. Georgia demonstrated safe and effective knife skills and soon everyone was chopping potatoes and carrots like true chefs! While chopping, one young chef announced that when he grows up, he will be opening his own potato restaurant!

For this recipe, there is the option of adding roasted green chilis for an additional kick for more adventurous eaters!

Potato and Green Chile Soup (Deborah Madison)
2-4 long green chiles or poblano chiles
2 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion
2 teaspoons teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large russet potatoes or 10 smaller potatoes (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock or water
Sour cream (or Greek yogurt) to finish
Chopped cilantro to finish
Step 1
Roast the chilis, allow to cool, peel and chop coarsely.
Step 2
Dice the onions. Heat the oil in a wide pot and add the onions cooking over medium-low heat until softened, about 4 minutes. 
Step 3
While the onions cook, peel and dice potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, potatoes, chilis and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook together for a few minutes then add the water or stock. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Step 4
Cook, covered until the potatoes are completely softened, about 25 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Mash or puree about half of the potatoes. Serve with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Arugula with Pasta and Potatoes

This is a quick, simple and surprisingly scrumptious dish. Try it tonight!

1lb or more of fresh arugula
4 or 5 potatoes (any kind)
1 package of pasta such as penne, gemmeli, or short pasta of your choice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Once you have your arugula washed and trimmed, peel the potatoes, cut them in half and slice them about a quarter inch thick. steam them lightly, but don’t fully cook. Start the pasta water. Heat up some oil in a skillet (preferably seasoned cast iron) and brown the potatoes on both sides. When your pasta water boils, pour in the pasta, and cook as indicated on the package. By the time the pasta is done, your potatoes should be nicely browned. Drain pasta, and transfer to a large bowl. Add the potatoes and arugula. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, toss and serve. The heat of the pasta just barely wilts the arugula, which is all it needs. the pasta and potatoes can stand up to arugula’s intensity. if you aren’t already a fan of arugula, you will be after this.

Pork and Vegetables

Most vegetables go well with pork. Ones that are traditionally associated with pork include:

Cabbage
Sauerkraut
Mushrooms
Acorn and other winter squash
Green beans
Peas
Broccoli
Corn
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Greens
Sweet potatoes

Dried beans and other legumes go well with pork, too, specially split peas and white beans.

Which Spuds for You?

Idaho potatoes, sometimes called “russets” because of their color, are best for baking. Their skin is rougher and the flesh is mealy or floury when cooked. They tend to sort of dissolve a bit when they’re boiled. Idaho potatoes are oval in shape and can weigh up to a pound, though about six ounces is more common, at least when you buy the bags of them. 

Red potatoes have smoother, red skin and are rounder. They are better for boiling because they hold together better. Their flesh is said to more “waxy” or firm. They are usually smaller than Idaho potatoes. Red potatoes are usually preferred for potato salad and in corned beef dinners.

You know those wonderful roasted potatoes that Kayte fixed a couple of weeks ago? Those were red potatoes. The roasted potatoes she fixed a couple of months ago? They were Idahos.  

When we lived in Idaho, we used Idaho potatoes for everything and they worked just fine. Red potatoes, though, don’t make very good baked potatoes.

Ham, Potatoes and Green Beans

(the way my Mom used to make)

2 pounds potatoes

2 pounds fresh green beans (or 2-3 cans of green beans, drained)

2 c ham, diced

Ham broth, if you have it
Salt, but not if you use ham broth

Peel the potatoes and quarter them. If they’re big potatoes, you’ll need to cut them again. Tip and tail the green beans and cut them into about 1” to 1-1/2” pieces. Cook the potatoes, green beans and ham in ham broth, if you have it, or in water if you don’t, until the potatoes are done. Serve it in bowls, with some of the broth.

Actually, I'm just pulling quantities out of the air, here. The real recipe is however much ham you have, and how every many green beans you have, and enough potatoes to make it feed however many people you expect for supper. It's a very flexible and forgiving recipe.

Turkey and Noodles

(Part of the LEFTOVERS from my THANKSGIVING DINNER for 12 for under $50)

To get the very last meal out of the Thanksgiving leftovers, make Turkey and Noodles. Like Chicken and Noodles, but with turkey instead of chicken. This was my aunt’s signature dish. Make it like CARCASS STEW, but add a pound or two of noodles to the broth. Homemade are best, of course, but probably more effort than you want to make right after Thanksgiving. I like curly noodles, but whatever you like – or whatever is cheapest. Meanwhile, boil up some more potatoes, and mash them. You serve the turkey and noodles over the mashed potatoes. Talk about carb heaven comfort food! You can really stretch the last of the leftover turkey this way, because the broth gives a strong turkey flavor to the noodles even if there wasn’t much meat left. You should be able to get more than four servings of Turkey and Noodles, because you’ve got the noodles and the potatoes to stretch it. It depends on how much water you used to cook the bones. In fact, if you really need to stretch it, make the Carcass Stew up through taking the meat off the bones, but save the bones. Put the bones back in more water, add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and some more salt and pepper and poultry seasoning, and simmer them all for at least twelve hours, and up to 24, or even 36. You’ll be amazed at how much flavor was left in the bones. You can use this turkey broth, along with the leftovers, to make Carcass Stew, and use the first bunch of broth to make Turkey and Noodles. That’s really stretching things, but both meals should still be good even if they don’t have quite as much flavor as if you just make one meal out of the carcass. 

Mashed Potatoes

(Part of my Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 for under $50)

And they were really mashed, too – not whipped! But whipping works just as well and you may not have a potato masher. I peeled 8 potatoes (they were pretty small) and cut them in fourths. I put them in cold water (you want to start with cold water so they cook evenly), brought them to a boil, then reduced the heat and simmered them until they were done. I should have salted the water but I think I forgot. When they were done, I drained them, but saved the water. I put the potatoes in a big bowl and added about half a cup of the water they cooked in, and mashed them a bit. Then I added about a quarter of a cup of whipping cream and a couple of tablespoons of butter and mashed them until they were nice and smooth and creamy. If you were going to whip them, you’d do the same thing except use a mixer instead of a potato masher. I tossed the rest of the water they cooked in, but you could save it and use it to make soup or bread.