Snow White Potato Soup with Lingonberry-Gin Sauce

From Sarah Steedman

Originally, Sarah told me, she wanted to make a  “Blood & Snow” soup, with beets and something white: “I thought that would be fun,” she said. “Kinda goth, kinda fairytale. But everyone I talked to said that it would be gross.” Thus cowed, she turned to white beans, but when that soup turned out thick and gummy she settled instead on potatoes. Spiced up with allspice and white pepper and heavy on the garlic, her Snow White potato soup may have been a little beige — but it had a wicked kick that was helped along by the gin-laced jam.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil or butter
6 cloves of garlic, halved
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 large red waxed potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

1/4 cup lingonberry jam
1 oz. Hendricks Gin

chopped green onions

Preparation

In medium saucepan, heat oil (or melt butter) until hot, add garlic and onions and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add chicken broth and potatoes and simmer about 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked, but not falling apart. Add salt, white pepper, and allspice. Turn off heat and let cool in pot for 20 minutes. Using an upright blender, process potato soup in two batches, each time adding 1/2 cup of the milk, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. Process each batch for 30 seconds or until soup has a smooth, velvety texture. Return soup to pot, taste and add more salt to your liking. Serve warm with a dollop of lingonberry-gin sauce*  and a sprinkle of chopped green onions.

* Combine 1/2 cup lingonberry jam and 1 ounce Hendricks gin; stir thoroughly.