Dairy Potato Soup

My mother has been making this soup since before I was born. I remember having it for dinner on a regular weeknight and my for a dairy meal on Pesach. It's hearty, filling, and really simple to prepare. 

The recipe came about a long time ago when my mother was chatting with a friend about dinner ideas for the nine days. Her friend told her about a very basic potato soup recipe, but over the years my mother has changed it up and added more vegetables. The original recipe was just potatoes, onions, and celery. After the soup finishes cooking it is partially pureed which results in a thick and rich soup, but some of the chunks of potato are left whole so every few spoonfuls you also get a bite of creamy soft potatoes. 

A thick and delicious soup with chunks of creamy potatoes, what's not to love? Bonus, the soup is packed with vegetables, but even the pickiest eaters in my family were none the wiser and we scraped our bowls clean. 

My mother finishes the soup with a little bit of chopped fresh dill. It brightens up this rich soup and the dill flavor pairs well the creamy potato. 

Dairy Potato Soup 

1 Tbs butter 

2 tsp olive oil 

1 large onion, diced

1 rib of celery, diced 

1 medium carrot, diced 

1 parsnip, diced (if you are unable to find parsnip don't worry just leave it out) 

1 handful fresh or frozen* green beans cut into 1 inch pieces (if using frozen see note below)

3 medium russet potatoes (in Israel used red skin), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks 

1 cup milk (1% is fine, but it's eve better with whole milk) 

3 cups water 

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp chopped fresh dill 

Add the butter and oil to a large pot over medium heat and allow the butter to melt completely. Add the diced onion along with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat the onion in the fat and salt and cook for about 10 minutes until translucent - you don't really want to get any color on the onion. Add the celery and cook for another 5-8 minutes until slightly tender. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the dill. Cover the pot and cook over medium low heat for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Remove about a third of the potato chunks from the soup and set aside. Blend the soup until smooth and then add the potatoes back in to the soup along with the dill. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Ladel into bowls and top with fresh dill if desired.  

*If using frozen green beans add them about 5 minutes before the soup is finished cooking not when you add the rest of the ingredients. If you want to make this soup for Pesach and you don't eat green beans, just leave them out.