How to Make a 'Cream of Anything' Soup Base

The first "fancy" soup I ever made was, not surprisingly, vichyssoise — a pureed, chilled leek and potato soup enriched with cream and topped with chives.

One day, I was in the mood, not for the chilled version, but for the hot one without the cream. AND I had no leeks. So I decided to try using onions instead. And to my great surprise, it worked really well. Perhaps not as delicately flavored as the leek version, but robust and really delicious. I had some left over the next day, as well as some chicken and vegetables from another recipe, so I decided to try combining them. Which brought me to another "Aha!" moment: This was the cream of chicken soup of my dreams… a little lighter and a lot less stodgy than the condensed version from my youth.

This got me thinking — was it possible to have all of the cream-style soups that I had always adored, without consuming gallons of heavy cream? (Not that I have any real objection to gallons of heavy cream.) And I quickly discovered that the answer was a resounding YES.

I began adding herbs, herb purees, chicken, turkey, fish, smoked fish, bacon, sausages, spices, spice blends, mushrooms, and every vegetable I could get my hands on. I tried so many variations that, at one point, I had so much of the basic onion and potato base in the fridge that I had to try freezing it. (Yet another "Aha!") It worked.

If you have your freezer stocked with this simple base, a delicious "cream" soup is only moments away. And you are truly limited only by your imagination and the contents of your fridge. All you need are some cooked vegetables, a cooked meat, and whatever else intrigues you!

How to Make a "Cream of Anything" Soup Base

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sweat 4 cups of chopped onions in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Don't let the onions brown at all, just soften. Add 4 cups peeled and diced Russet potatoes.
2. Add 6 cups water, or low-sodium chicken stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and gently simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until both onions and potatoes are completely soft. Taste and add salt and a bit of pepper.
3. Puree the soup. If you have an immersion blender, this is the perfect time to use it to get a beautiful, smooth puree. You can also use a traditional blender, but be careful not to over-blend.
4. Once pureed, the soup may seem a little too thick, but that's very much on purpose. When ready to use, you can thin the base with as much or as little liquid as you want. (And you can even decide at that point to be decadent and add some cream.)
5. Use immediately, or allow it cool, and freeze in an airtight container.

A few additional notes (after making literal GALLONS of it):

• You can make this with any amount of potatoes and onions — just make sure that they're equal, and raise or lower the amount of liquid accordingly.
• I make mine with water so the potato flavor is highlighted, but chicken stock is just fine as well.
• Potatoes need salt, so don't skimp. No matter how much you add, it won't be anywhere near the amount in the condensed stuff.
• I always use cooked meat, and crisp cooked vegetables as add-ins for the base.
• I haven't tried it, but I'm betting this would make a wonderful clam chowder… the New England kind, of course!

Now, I love this soup plain. And I always have onions, potatoes, water, and butter in the kitchen, so I can make it in much less than an hour. But if I have some interesting things in the fridge… this soup base opens up whole new worlds. Just try it. You'll likely end up with some incredible combinations I haven't even thought of.