This recipe was the first thing I ever cooked for my family as a little kid, sourced from the old Spice Islands Cookbook. I was so proud of myself for making this soup all by myself, and happily it can be made from common ingredients usually found in the kitchen and pantry. It is a lovely soup, rich and earthy without being too heavy. The cumin and beau monde seasoning really make it an unusual potato soup.
Sour Cream Cumin Potato Soup
2 1/2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups of water
2 tsp. beef stock base (or 5 cups of beef broth)
1 tsp. beau monde seasoning
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup light cream
1 tsp. arrowroot
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbl. chervil (or parsley)
In a soup pot, combine water, diced potatoes, and beef stock base and bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are very tender, ~20 – 30 minutes. Mash potatoes using a potato masher in the broth base without draining, mash until smooth. Add beau monde, cumin and black pepper and simmer 10 minutes more. Whisk together the cream and the arrowroot and stir into the soup, bring back to the simmer. Whisk in the sour cream and heat until hot but not boiling. Add chervil or parsley and serve.
Serves 4
Heather in SF 
