Use a good quality chicken broth too. If you are using canned it might be giving it that “Campbell Soup” flavor.
I went all out. Free range, organic chicken broth. I think the broth was pretty good, although nothing like the the stuff I make myself. It would be nice if you could buy good, homemade stock in the freezer section.
Interestingly enough, if you trust Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen’s opinions on these matters (and I don’t always), they found a lot of the organic free-range broths to be subpar. (Although Swanson’s organic version did come out first, their “natural goodness” chicken broth fared just about as well.
Here’s a list of their recommendations
I actually use Swanson’s Natural Goodness and College Inn Low Fat in a pinch.
One of my dark secrets, don’t tell anybody: If I want to add just a little bit of pep to my canned chicken broth, I will sometimes throw in half a Knorr chicken bouillon cube or so. Be careful, as adding to much will make it taste sharp and obviously of bouillon, but a little bit will help lift the flavor (no doubt helped by the MSG in these things.) Add a little bit at a time, tasting along the way. I usually only do this with heavily flavored, meaty soups, as it’s not as identifiable as in something more delicate like a potato & leek soup or tortellini al brodo or something like that, where the quality of the stock is much more in the forefront. That said, it is in my experience that people like that extra little kick. (I seem to recall Anthony Bourdain mentioning in Kitchen Confidential sneaking some cubes into his stock lessons at culinary and everybody being amazed at the amount of flavor he got from his bones. :))
Keep in mind that my advice is given with a healthy dose of reservation, and I’m sure some purists (of which I am on many thing culinary) will want to leap to the keyboard to denounce this hesitant bit of “wisdom.” But a little bit may give you the flavor boost you’re looking for without undermining the underlying simplicity of the dish too much.
It’s easy to overcook russet potatoes. My potato salad often comes out as mashed potato salad.
You say that as if it’s a bad thing.
NO [del][COLOR=Black]WIRE HANGERS[/del][/COLOR] BLENDERS WITH POTATOES!!
Use a ricer, or afood mill. Using a blender/hand blender/food processor with potatoes gives them a gummy texture. A ricer or food mill will leave a light and fluffy texture.
As mentioned, potato and leek soup is traditionally pretty bland. I like to add lots of paprika.
If you’re not a fan of the blended style, try this recipe. It’s a rustic (ie, not blended) style of Potato Leek soup, originally from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I’ve made it dozens of times and it’s delicious.
6 T unsalted butter
4 - 5 pounds leeks, white and light green parts. Should be about 11 cups after chopped.
1 T flour
5 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 pounds medium red potatoes (about 5), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
Instructions
1. Clean and trim leeks, discarding dark green parts. Cut each leek in half lengthways, then cut into 1" slices.
2. Heat butter in a big pot over medium low heat until it foams. Stir in the leeks, cover and cook about 15-20 minutes until the leeks are tender but not browned or mushy. Sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir, cook for another 2 minutes until flour dissolves.
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Turn up the heat, add stock gradually, whisking or stirring the whole time. Add the bay leaf and the potatoes. Cover and boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 5-8 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes to finish cooking the potatoes and allowing the flavors to meld.
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Remove the bay leaf, add salt & pepper to taste, Eat. Yum!
It’s not, but others disagree.
My dad made mashed potato salad. He used my mom’s recipe for regular potato salad, but he liked the potatoes mashed.