I’m back with another recipe from Ina Garten’s new cookbook, Simply Ina, and this one might be the ultimate shortcut!
If you’ve ever made homemade potato soup, you know it can be quite a production. Baking potatoes, waiting for them to cool, scooping out the insides while inevitably burning your hands and making a big mess along the way. It’s delicious, but it’s not exactly a quick weeknight dinner.
Well, leave it to Ina to figure out a better way!
Her Mashed Potato & Leek Soup uses store-bought mashed potatoes. Yes, really! Two packages of Bob Evans mashed potatoes go straight into the pot with sautéed leeks, chicken stock and a few other ingredients. I promise it tasted better than it looks.
I’ll admit I was skeptical. But when Ina Garten tells you that store-bought is fine, you know she’s done her homework. So I decided to trust the process!
As it turned out, Honey was the one who made this recipe because I was working late. And can I just say how thankful I am for a husband who will happily dive into a new recipe and have a hot meal waiting on the table? Especially one I hadn’t even tried making myself!
The soup had a wonderful flavor and a lovely, comforting texture. It’s exactly the kind of thing I want for dinner on a chilly evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s also a nice, substantial soup without requiring hours in the kitchen.
My one little critique is that it was heavy on the black pepper. I don’t know if Honey was a little generous with the pepper grinder or if the recipe simply calls for more than we prefer, but I’d cut the amount in half next time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing!
The recipe makes six to eight servings, so we had plenty left over, and I’m happy to report that it reheated beautifully. That’s always a bonus for a weeknight meal.
You can find Mashed Potato & Leek Soup on page 64 of Simply Ina. It’s another winner from the cookbook and such a clever way to get homemade flavor with a fraction of the effort.
And a special thank you to Honey for tackling this one while I was working. A delicious bowl of soup and dinner already on the table? Even with a little extra pepper, that’s pretty hard to beat!
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