Potato Herb Soup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Bake the frozen potato cubes until soft enough to squeeze by hand, about 10 minutes.
3. Use a potato masher to mash the potato cubes, leaving some of the potatoes chunky. Set aside.
4. In a large soup pot*, melt 1/4 cup butter and add the flour, stirring constantly.
5. Cook the mixture until the flour is almost golden in color. (This would be considered a blonde roux.) Turn the heat down to low and stir occasionally.
6. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a separate sauté pan.
7. Add the onions, white pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, and parsley and cook until the onions are translucent.
8. While the onions cook, whisk the chicken base and the half & half together in a large liquid measuring cup.
9. Stir the half & half mixture and the heavy cream into the roux.
10. Once cooked, add the onion mixture to the stock pot and stir well.
11. Add the partially mashed potatoes to the stock pot.
12. Cook, covered, on low heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently, or use a double boiler to prevent the soup from scalding on the bottom of the pan.
13. Add water to thin the soup to the desired consistency.
14. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.