Creamy BLT Soup

 

I have been eating BLT Soup at a beautiful bistro-style restaurant in a town not too far from our home for many years.  I order it there without fail every time we visit.  It sounded so strange to me before trying it there for the first time.  Who puts iceberg lettuce in soup?  (They do. And, it rocks.) I spent quite a bit of time researching online various BLT Soup recipes recently, then followed that by testing some of the recipes that I came across. Through trial and error, I believe that I have arrived at the ultimate BLT Soup recipe.

When you dig into this soup, you really do feel like you are eating a BLT sandwich, but in soup form. (Does that make sense?) All the flavors are there.  Crusty bread on the side for dipping is highly recommended, but the soup is great on its own, as well. It is comfort food times a million. Think of the marriage of a BLT Sandwich to Creamy Potato Soup.

Indulgent. And, so totally worth every bite.

Yields 4 - 6 servings.


Ingredients:

8 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 - 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken stock, warmed
1/8 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Black pepper (to taste)
1 cup heavy cream
2 - 3 green onions (both white and green parts), sliced
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, thinly chopped
1 fresh tomato, diced
Salt (only if needed at the end of cooking)

Directions:

In a soup pot set to medium heat, cook the bacon until just crisp.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Tent with foil to keep warm. Retain bacon fat in the pan.

Add the onions and potatoes into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat onions and potatoes. Cook - stirring occasionally - for about 3 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.

Pour in the warmed chicken stock.  Stir and allow to come to a boil.  Simmer - stirring occasionally - until potatoes are fork-tender, but not mushy. During this time, add in the nutmeg, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

Reduce heat to low.  Add the heavy cream and stir to blend.  Bring soup back to gentle simmer. Add in three-fourths of the lettuce, three-fourths of the sliced green onions and three-fourths of the diced tomato - reserving remaining one-fourth of each for garnish.  Allow soup to come back up to temperature.  Simmer on low for about five minutes prior to serving.

Taste and add salt only if needed.

Serve with additional lettuce, green onions and tomato as garnish in each bowl.

07/20/16: Updated photos and made clarifications to post/recipe.