Creamy Potato Ham Soup

Growing up in Arizona, I had no clue what potato soup was. If we had soup, it was usually out of a can, like tomato or chicken noodle, unless Momma wanted vegetable beef, which was her favorite.

After getting married and moving to Minnesota, I quickly learned that my husband's favorite soup is potato ham, specifically his mom's potato ham soup.

I am so blessed to have Grandma O in my life still, and she is always willing to share her recipes with me. I may have "tweaked" the original recipe here or there, as this is known as a "to taste" recipe, which means there are no exact measurements; you measure with your heart.

Tools needed:

Large kettle

Sharp knife

cutting board

Whisk, fork or spoon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

3-4 cups Ham (diced)

7-8 Potatoes (cubed)

1/2 medium onion (chopped)

6-8 cups water

2 cups milk

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large kettle, add the butter and melt it over medium heat. Add the chopped onions to the melted butter and cook on low heat until the onions are translucent and tender. Next, add the ham, then cover the kettle and simmer on low while you peel and cube the potatoes.

Once the potatoes are cubed, add them to the kettle. Next, add the water, salt, and pepper.

Stir to combine and continue cooking on low heat until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Make a roux:

To prepare a roux, add the flour to a bowl with 1 cup of cold milk. Use the whisk to blend the flour and milk thoroughly, ensuring there are no lumps.

Slowly pour the roux into the kettle, stirring constantly to avoid clumping. As the roux heats up, it will thicken the soup. Once your soup is thickened, add the remaining 1 cup of milk, stir, and cook over low heat for an additional 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Notes:

The kettle I used is 7 quarts, the amount of ingredients listed above made approximately 4 quarts of soup.

This soup can be frozen. I have made this in the past using heavy cream and it did NOT freeze well, the cream separated and became gritty.

I used gold potatoes for this recipe. I believe most varieties will work. In the past I used Russet, but have learned that we prefer Red potatoes.

Potatoes absorb salt so be careful when adding it. You may opt to just add it to your servings individually. Also keep in mind, some ham may be saltier than others.