Ingredients

• 6 strips bacon
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 4 large Russet potatoes diced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or more to taste
• Chopped scallions to taste
• 3/4 cup sour cream or more to taste
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Cut up the bacon and add it to a soup pot (kitchen shears make this job easy). Fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it's nice and crispy (about 10 minutes).
• Meanwhile, prep your onion and potatoes. You can peel the potatoes, or scrub them and leave them unpeeled if you prefer.
• Once the bacon is done, take it out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave about two tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pot (it's fine to eyeball it). Discard the rest of the bacon fat or reserve it to use in another recipe.
• Add the onion to the pot and sauté it for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the flour and cook it for about a minute.
• Whisk the milk in slowly until the flour has dissolved.
• Add the chicken broth, garlic, and potatoes. Increase the heat to high. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. When the soup is almost boiling, reduce the heat and cover the pot with the lid slightly open. Let the soup simmer gently for 20 minutes.
• While the soup's cooking, get the cheddar, scallions, and sour cream ready.
• The potatoes should be quite fall-apart tender by now. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes a little bit right in the pot, but if you want to leave the potatoes as-is, that's fine too. 
• Stir in the sour cream and most of the cheddar and bacon (reserve some as topping for soup bowls). Season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Top each bowl with the scallions and remaining cheddar and bacon.

Notes

• If at any point the soup is too thick for you (especially when reheating it), add in some chicken broth slowly until your desired consistency is reached.
• I suggest reheating this soup on a low heat and stirring it often. The potatoes can cement on the bottom if the heat is too high.
• This recipe is also on page 165 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.

Nutrition