Haven't made potato soup yet this year, but Deborah Madison's caramelized version is my favorite. You slice onions and potatoes very thin and sauté them in olive oil until there's a nice thick brown crust on the bottom of the pot, then deglaze it with stock and simmer until everything's tender. I like to purée it with a stick blender (pulse so the potatoes don't get gummy) before adding chopped greens, but you can leave the potatoes chunky.
ETA: Speaking of curry, I haven't tried this yet: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.c...ery-root-soup/ but if I find any celery root at the farmers' market, this is on my list! I try to minimize dairy and I'd expect this soup would be fine without any, but if you wanted the added fat, coconut milk would probably work well with the flavors, or maybe the earthiness of unsweetened hemp milk.
Last edited by OakLeaf; 10-10-2011 at 06:57 AM.
Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler