A More Perfect Union: Potato and White Bean Soup

I set out to make a hybrid of classic potato and white bean soups, but I needed that one thing to make them meld. 

And I found it: Boursin herb and garlic cheese.

I’ve been buying the three-pack of Boursin at Costco. It includes two boxes of herb and garlic and one box of shallot and chive. It is great to keep in stock for multiple reasons, chief among them that it is a great, quick snack with crackers, but it is also a versatile cheese that can elevate many of your dishes. 

Use a block with your mashed potatoes and you can forego milk, butter, and sour cream. Just add a little reserved potato water to thin it out, and you have a rich and flavorful side dish with no risk of a gummy disaster.

And Boursin herb and garlic is perfect for grits. Since we lost the Kraft garlic cheese roll so many years ago, I have floundered and lamented cooking grits without it. I went from yellow Velveeta to white Velveeta before finally discovering that Boursin is the perfect addition: the flavor is spot-on and it gives grits a light, fluffy texture.

The potato and white bean soup is easy to make though you do have to tend it at first. But you don’t have to get the blender out and can just give the potatoes a light mash near the beginning. The only complaint I got was that I should have doubled the recipe because there was none left. This batch makes 5-6 servings so adjust the amounts as needed.

Enjoy …

Potato White Bean Soup

2 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
3 Russet potatoes, medium sized, peeled, large dice
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled, diced
1 quart chicken stock
8 oz. packaged diced ham (like Hormel, optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cannellini or white kidney beans (rinsed, drained)
1 can great Northern beans (rinsed, drained)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
5.2 oz. block of Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese, softened
Salt, to taste  

Instructions

Melt butter and heat oil in a soup pot on medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and adding ¼ cup of chicken stock to help them steam off. You will add stock 2 – 3 times as it reduces. Once the potatoes soften a little, give them a light mash to release some of the starch and thicken the stock. 

Add the carrots and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring. Add a little more stock if you need to keep the potatoes and carrots from sticking.

Add the onion and celery and cook for another 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add a little more stock if you need and stir as needed. 

Add the garlic, ham, black pepper, and Italian seasoning and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring.

Add the remaining chicken stock and reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water, if you want to thin it out, but you probably won’t need it.

Add Boursin cheese, dollop by dollop, and stir until melted and blended. Add beans and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes until beans are heated through. Salt to taste.

Serve with cornbread, of course!