On a very cold day, I remembered that I had a package
of wonderful Vidalia onions in the freezer.
I grilled 6 big onions in late summer and put them away for wintertime. They had a fantastic smoky flavor right off
the grill and I was sure they would retain that flavor! And they did!
What a delicious foundation for a pot of creamy potato
soup.
Soup making doesn’t require a detailed recipe. Add what you like! For this batch, I used
creamy Yukon Gold potatoes, fresh celery and 2 halves of my grilled
onions.
Grilled Onion Potato Soup
2 Tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil
4 cups peeled and cubed gold potatoes
2 halves grilled onions
2 stalks of celery chopped
4 cups of savory chicken broth
2 cups of half and half
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon of dried dill
Several grinds of black peppercorns
Sauté the potatoes and celery in the olive oil for
about 5 minutes. Add the seasonings, onion halves and chicken broth. Simmer for 30 minutes or a little longer
until the vegetables are done. Pour in
the half and half and continue to simmer for a few more minutes. The onion
halves will separate into rings, but you can chop them even more, if you’d
like. If your soup isn’t thick enough,
you can add a couple Tablespoons of instant mashed potato flakes or a slurry
made with a Tablespoon of corn starch with ¼ cup of half and half, milk or cold
water. You can also slightly mash the potatoes
in the soup and that will thicken the mixture.
How to Grill and Freeze Onions
Vidalia Onions are the best for this! Clean the onions and cut them in half. Brush the onion flat side with olive oil. Place the onions, flat side down, on the bbq grill over medium heat. Cover the grill and leave the onions for 20 - 30 minutes until they are soft, but still firmly held together. Remove the onions. Let them cool and place them in freezer containers. I put waxed paper between layers. Freeze them until you are ready to use them. Thaw them on the countertop for a couple hours, or in the fridge overnight.
