potato and cheddar cheese soup

By barbell

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb bacon -cut crosswise into thin slices
• 1 large chopped onion3 lbs baking potatoes- about 6- peeled and cut into 1 ich cubes
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 ozs. grated cheddar cheese-about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion tops

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

in a large sauce pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. remove bacon with slotted spoona dn drain on paper towel. pout off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon fat or if you dont have enough add enough evo to make up the amount.
add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent about 5 minutes. stir in the potatoes, water and salt and bring to a boinl. reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender, 15 -20 minutes.
remove 1/2 soup from pan and puree in a food processor. alternatively, mash some of the potatoes with a potato mashed. return the puree to the pan. over low heat add the cheese and stir until melted. remove the pan from the heat. taste and add more salt if needed. serve the soup topped with bacon and chives
NOTE; boiling potatoers have less starch than baking or idaho potatoes and consequently hold together better when boiled. thiat is why they are often used in soups and for potatoe salad. not in this soup,though. since we want some of the potatoes to break down into smaller pieces and thicken the soup, baking potatoes are the perfect choice.