Ham and Potato Chowder {gluten-free}

If there’s one thing about a restaurant meal that annoys me, it’s that they often add gluten in the form of flour to soups. Even when the soup could be thickened in other ways, flour is always the fall back. It unnecessarily eliminates that dish as a choice for those of us who don’t tolerate wheat and/or gluten well. It’s so easy to thicken soups that have potatoes in it because the starch gives the soup that velvety, smooth consistency naturally.

This ham and potato chowder is a great example of simple, good home cooking, gluten-free. It’s full of warm, starchy potatoes, uncured ham from a pastured hog, veggies and cheese. Have to have cheese.

It’s not quite winter yet and here, in PA, it hasn’t been all that cold this fall but soup is always comforting and always delicious. In fact, I think I just might designate one night of the week for soup this season. As I’m learning in the book “Better than Before”, habits allow you to turn off your brain. So, maybe Friday night will be brain-free nights but we’ll just call them “Soup night.”

Ham and Potato Chowder {gluten-free}

 

Author:

www.mrfarmersdaughter.com

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Ingredients

• 8 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tbls. butter
• 1-1/2 cups celery, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced small
• 8 cups of bone broth*, chicken
• 5 cups ham, cubed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• Salt, pepper and parsley to taste

Instructions

1. In stock pot, heat 1 Tbls. butter.
2. Add onions and celery and cook until translucent.
3. Add carrots and cook for another 5 minutes until softening.
4. Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Cook until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes at a simmer).
6. Partially blend soup with either an immersion blender* or a countertop blender**.
7. Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream and shredded cheese, stirring until cheese is melted and combined.
8. Season with salt, pepper and fresh parsley.
9. Serve.
10. *If using an immersion blender, blend until about half of the potato mixture is smooth, keeping some of the vegetables whole.
11. **If using a countertop blender, carefully remove half the soup and blend in batches returning the blended liquid back to the pot each time. This will leave some of the vegetables whole.

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