Creamy Potato Soup

2 lb russet potatoes, peeled & diced (Yukon gold for buttery-but-firmer)
4 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced (or 2 leeks, whites sliced) · 2 ribs celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup flour
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup milk, or ½ cup heavy cream
salt · pepper
to load: sharp cheddar · crisp bacon · chives or green onion · sour cream

What you need

2 lb russet potatoes, peeled & diced (Yukon gold for buttery-but-firmer)

4 Tbsp butter

1 onion, diced (or 2 leeks, whites sliced) · 2 ribs celery, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup milk, or ½ cup heavy cream

salt · pepper

to load: sharp cheddar · crisp bacon · chives or green onion · sour cream

Sweat the base. Melt the butter and soften the onion and celery 5–6 min until sweet and translucent — don't brown them. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
Build body with a roux. Stir in the flour and cook it 1–2 min, stirring, until it smells nutty and the raw-flour taste cooks off.
Liquid & potatoes. Pour in the stock a little at a time, whisking out lumps, then add the potatoes. Simmer 15–20 min, until a fork slides through easily.
Make it creamy — halfway. Blend about half the pot with an immersion blender (or mash some against the side), leaving the rest in tender chunks. Stir in the milk or cream and warm it through.
Season & load. Off the heat, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle up and pile on cheddar, bacon, chives, and a spoon of sour cream.

Steps — tap one to keep your place

1. Sweat the base. Melt the butter and soften the onion and celery 5–6 min until sweet and translucent — don't brown them. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.

2. Build body with a roux. Stir in the flour and cook it 1–2 min, stirring, until it smells nutty and the raw-flour taste cooks off.

3. Liquid & potatoes. Pour in the stock a little at a time, whisking out lumps, then add the potatoes. Simmer 15–20 min, until a fork slides through easily.

4. Make it creamy — halfway. Blend about half the pot with an immersion blender (or mash some against the side), leaving the rest in tender chunks. Stir in the milk or cream and warm it through.

5. Season & load. Off the heat, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle up and pile on cheddar, bacon, chives, and a spoon of sour cream.

✨ Untested — Claude drafted this one from scratch; it hasn't been cooked and amended in our kitchen yet, so treat the amounts as a starting point. Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.