Lovage and Potato Soup
A smooth, old-fashioned potato soup lifted by lovage — the towering cottage-garden herb that tastes like celery with the volume turned up. A Central European and British kitchen-garden classic.
Ingredients
serves 4From the garden
- ½ cup fresh lovage leaves, chopped, a few small leaves reserved
- 1½ lb potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
From the pantry
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- crusty bread, for serving (optional)
- salt — to taste
- black pepper
Steps
tap a step to dim it as you go- Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt 5–6 minutes, until soft and translucent without browning.
- Add the potatoes and stock, bring to a simmer, and cook about 15 minutes until the potatoes mash easily against the side of the pot.
- Stir in the chopped lovage and simmer 3–4 minutes more — just long enough to soften the leaves while their celery-like perfume stays bright. Long boiling dulls it.
- Blend until smooth (an immersion blender in the pot is easiest; in a jar blender, work in batches and vent the lid). Stir in the cream and warm through without boiling.
- Season well with salt and black pepper, ladle into bowls, and finish with the reserved small lovage leaves and bread for dunking.