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It's cold and wintery and the entire city is snowed in! Let's make soup!
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I love blue potatoes. I love their nutty flavor and ancient pedigree--they're from the Andean highlands of Peru and look like potatoes must have looked like seven thousand years ago. You just need one big one--peel it and cut open to see a beautiful tie-dye inside.
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Chop into little chunks roughly the same size and set aside.
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You need one small onion, diced.
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And about 1/2 cup of diced celery.
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And bacon! Truthfully, this soup could use more but this was all I had in the house--about 1/4 pound. Chop it up into little pieces and fry until crispy in a big pot.
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Remove the delicious nibbles and set aside, hiding them from yourself, if necessary.
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Add the onion and celery to the bacony pot over medium heat and saute until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
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Add 1 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon chile powder to bloom in the fat.
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Then 1 tablespoon tomato paste, sauteed briefly.
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Rinse about 1 1/2 cups of french green lentils (aka lentilles
du Puy). You can use regular lentils if you want but I like these because they hold their shape even after they're cooked. They're especially delicious with our blue potato.
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Add to the pot and saute for a minute or two...
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Then add in your blue potato along with 2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed.
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Add 6 cups of chicken stock and a bay leaf or two, and bring to a low boil, then turn down to simmer for about 45 minutes.
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Meanwhile, stir 1/2 cup of greek yogurt until very smooth.
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Take a peek at your soup--you might want to skim off some of the bacon fat.
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When it is all done it will smell divine. Taste it and add salt as needed and drizzle in 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. I actually also tossed in a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce for more dimension but that might not be to everyone's taste. I think it would also be good with a tablespoon of miso stirred in there.
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Top with spoonfuls of the greek yogurt and a handful of crisp bacon.
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