Three Potato Soup -- Past Brenda Always Has Dinner Ready

The cold broke this week. Not broke entirely — this is Nebraska in January, cold does not break, it renegotiates — but the wind stopped and the temperature climbed to thirty-five, which after weeks of single digits feels like spring, feels like bare arms and sunshine, which is a delusion but a pleasant one. Thirty-five degrees in January is a mercy. I take the mercies when they come.

Justin had a basketball game. He plays basketball in winter — not as his primary sport, not with the intensity he brings to football, but with the competence of an athletic kid who can pick up any sport and be good enough to play. He scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds and looked bored doing it, which is Justin's way — the effort is invisible, the result is visible, and the gap between them is where Justin lives. After the game he asked for Taco Bell, and I drove through and bought seven tacos and he ate five of them in the car, which is the metabolism of a twelve-year-old boy expressed in tortillas.

I wrote my second Overdrive column this week — the engine block burrito, as promised. Eight hundred words about wrapping a foil burrito on the engine block to warm it during a haul. I included a photograph Dave took: a breakfast burrito sitting on a Peterbilt engine, gleaming with foil, looking simultaneously ridiculous and genius. The column is funny. I do not write funny often, because my life is not often funny, but the burrito on the engine is funny, and the funny is real, and I sent it to the editor and he said it was the best thing they had received in months, which is either a compliment to me or an indictment of their other submissions.

I made a big pot of potato soup for the week — potatoes, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, chives. It lasts three days when I make a full pot, which means three days of not cooking dinner, which means three days of arriving home from a haul and finding dinner already made by past Brenda, who is always more organized than present Brenda, and the gratitude I feel toward past Brenda is the purest form of self-love I have ever experienced.

The pot of potato soup I mentioned — potatoes, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, chives — is something I’ve been making on rotation all winter, and this version with three kinds of potato is the one I keep coming back to. There is something almost luxurious about a soup that uses russets for body, red potatoes for texture, and sweet potatoes for just enough sweetness to round everything out; it is the kind of depth you get when you refuse to simplify. If you are going to cook once for three days, you might as well make it worth eating three days in a row.

Three Potato Soup

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 6 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3/4-inch pieces)
• 2 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (skin on)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, for serving

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pot.
2. Soften the aromatics. Add the diced onion to the pot with the drippings and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
3. Add the potatoes and broth. Add the russet, red, and sweet potato cubes to the pot. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until all potatoes are fork-tender, about 20–25 minutes.
4. Mash partially. Use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to roughly mash about one-third of the potatoes in the pot, leaving plenty of chunks for texture. This thickens the soup without making it a puree.
5. Add the dairy. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the milk and sour cream until fully incorporated. Do not let the soup boil after this point or the sour cream may separate.
6. Melt in the cheese. Add 1 cup of the shredded cheddar and the smoked paprika. Stir until cheese is fully melted and soup is creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
7. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with reserved bacon crumbles, the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar, and fresh chives. Serve hot with crusty bread or rolls if desired.
8. Store for the week. Cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of broth or milk to loosen if needed.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 320 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 33g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 520mg