With winter ragging across most of the country, I posed this question on Facebook:

What is your favorite soup?

I received a nice variety of responses, which included some of my favorite soups like Broccoli Cheddar and Italian Wedding and others that I had yet to recreate at home.

Nick described his beloved Steak & Potato Soup as “meaty and full of potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. The broth is rich but not too thick.” I’m fairly certain what he described was available in a can and included the word Chunky on the label :) I can work with that and so chunky this soup would be. A fine balance between a soup and a stew.

Soup will generally contain meat or vegetables that are typically brought to a boil in water or broth and served with a generous ratio of broth to meat/vegetables. Whereas a Stew has less liquid, is typically simmered for a longer period and is served with more meat/vegetables and less broth.

For the ‘steak’ you can use your favorite cut. I prefer beginning with tender beef that has some nice marbling. This is the star of the show so why scrimp and use a tough cut of meat?! I used Yukon Gold for the potatoes because I like how they hold together yet are nice and creamy. Fresh thyme is a must and caramelized mushrooms go perfectly in this hearty soup.

I pan brown the steak and mushrooms in batches because a nice sear really helps to build flavor. Remove the beef and mushrooms and reserve them until nearer the end of cooking.

Add onions, carrots and fresh thyme to the same pan and sauté until almost tender. Dust the veggies with flour or arrowroot (for GF), then deglaze the pan with red wine and tomato paste to incorporate all those yummy brown bits from the seared steak, all the while building layers of flavor.

Next comes the cubed potatoes, bay leaves and a nice rich beef stock or bone broth. Simmer soup until potatoes are just fork tender, then return the seared steak and mushrooms to the pot and heat through. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.

Homemade Steak & Potato Soup got two thumbs up from my favorite taste-tester. This soup will satisfy your best eaters and is the perfect cold-weather blues buster!!

Making homemade soup reminds me of one of my favorite cooking quotes.

“Cooking is a caring and nurturing act. It’s kind of the ultimate gift for someone, to cook for them. It creates all this beautiful stuff, conversation, appreciation, romance. All the most important things in life you do around a dinner table.” ~ Curtis Stone.

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Wishing you a happy table. All my best, Libby

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You know the kind that cook in the most delicious lemony garlicky broth!

I absolutely adore them and wanted to recreate a version to go with our Greek Chicken Burgers.

These lemony potato wedges have all the beautiful flavors of the classic roasted Greek potato recipe but are crispy like steak fries.

If you love Crispy Baked Potato Wedges like I do check out <—– that link for dipping sauces three ways ;-).

Once you cut the baking potatoes into large wedges, you parboil them for a few minutes before baking. This helps them crisp up nicely. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika then into a 450 degree F. oven for 15 minutes, flip and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Transfer from baking sheet to serving tray. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, fresh lemon zest, fresh oregano leaves and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

We paired these Greek Style Potato Wedges with our Greek Chicken Burgers. These burgers are packed with fresh herbs, feta cheese, spinach and aromatics. The flavor pairing is spot on and who doesn’t love burgers & fries!

Are there recipes that remind you of a favorite vacation that you’d like to see us recreate? I’d love for you to comment below. Your feedback is so important to me (and keeps the recipe love fresh).

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Greek Style Potato Wedges

These Greek Style Potato Wedges have all the beautiful flavors of the classic Greek Potato recipe but are crispy like steak fries.

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 4 russet baking potatoes each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 lemon zest & juice
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 1 Tbl fresh oregano chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Cut each potato into 8 wedges. Bring large sauce pan of water to boil. Add potatoes and cook 5 minutes. Drain.
• Toss parboiled potatoes with olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on large baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then use spatula to turn over potatoes. Continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Transfer from baking sheet to serving tray. Sprinkle with feta cheese, lemon zest, fresh oregano and squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

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Growing up in beautiful New England was a blessing for so many reasons.  The small town simple life made way for creativity and adventure.  As kids we walked to school, rode our bikes to the lake, climbed ‘the mountain’ for fun, went to every Friday night basketball game, and loved our lobsters & chowders, grinders, maple syrup, and New England Boiled Dinners.  Each year as we welcome in the Autumn season I think of soups and stews and pumpkins and foliage and New England.

This was the view from our back yard and this link gives you a live view of Mt. Monadnock.  So even from 1200 miles away I can be reminded of her beauty with the click of a button.  Very cool.

The town I grew up in, Jaffrey, New Hampshire, is perhaps most known for our glorious mountain, Mount Monadnock.  Her rocky peak can be seen from as far away as Boston on a clear day.  Over 100,000 people hike Mount Monadnock each year, making it the second most climbed mountain in the world, and perhaps the most painted and written about mountain in America.  Ralph Waldo Emderson’s poem Monadnoc suggested there is much to learn from the spiritual balance of nature that is ever present on the mountain.  His writing inspired Henry David Thoreau, who himself camped on the side of Mount Monadnock.

New England is certainly rich in history, however less recognized for her cuisine.  Yes, Lobsters and Chowders are probably the first things that come to mind, but New England Boiled Dinner has earned her place in the history books.  According to Presidential lore (and a wonderful article published in Yankee Magazine), it seems President Grover Cleveland, who was mostly an everyday Joe, came into his presidency on the heals of a food snob.  The former President, Chester Arthur, favored French dining and insisted on each dish being called by it’s French name.  One evening President Cleveland caught a whiff of the unmistakable glorious aroma of New England Boiled Dinner wafting from the servants quarters.  He traded his dinner for theirs and later declared “It was the best dinner I had had for months.”

New England Boiled Dinner is ‘meat and potatoes’ in it’s most pure and simplest form.  In the early days, cold winter nights called for well stoked fires.  Well stoked fires invited big pots of inexpensive and readily available ingredients, such as root vegetables straight from the garden and a big piece of fatty meat for flavoring.  This one pot meal might just be THE dish that made leftovers sexy.  Have I told you about Red Flannel Hash?

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New England Boiled Dinner {Corned Beef & Cabbage}

New England Boiled Dinner is ‘meat and potatoes’ in it’s most pure and simplest form. It’s a wonderfully hearty one dish meal the whole family will enjoy.

Course Entree

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
• 20 peppercorns optional
• 10 whole cloves optional
• 2 bay leaves optional
• 3-4 small turnips peeled and quartered
• 4-6 red new potatoes peeled and cut in half
• 4-6 large carrots peeled and cut in half
• 3-4 small onion peeled
• 2-3 parsnips peeled and cut in half
• 1 small head cabbage cut into fourths
• 3-4 beets peeled, reserved to cook separately
• crusty bread optional
• softened butter optional

Instructions

• Place corned beef and seasoning packet in a large Dutch oven and completely cover with water. If you are using corned beef brisket that does not come with a seasoning packet, add peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves to the pot.
• Bring to a simmer and then cover. Maintain a gentle low simmer for 3 1/2 – 4 hours until the meat is tender when a fork is inserted.
• Remove the meat and cover with foil to keep warm. Add all vegetables (except the beets) to the pot, increase the temperature and bring to a low boil/high simmer. Continue cooking 20-30 minutes longer until vegetables are tender.
• For the beets, peel and quarter. Wrap in parchment paper and microwave for 8-10 minutes until just fork tender.
• To slice the meat, locate the direction of the grain, then thinly slice against the grain.
• Serve family style on a large platter with a side of reserved broth, a big crusty bread, and plenty of softened butter.

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Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs.  Designed for breakfast, hearty enough for dinner, and really great leftover.

One benefit of food blogging is that from time to time we have to make a dish more than once.  Especially if it’s a holiday themed recipe that needs to get out ahead of time.  That’s exactly what happened this year in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day…times three.  Yes, we cooked three rounds of corned beef between March 6th and March 17th.  One for my New England Boiled Dinner post, one for my office St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon, and one for us to enjoy on St. Patty’s Day.

Needless to say we wound up looking for ways to incorporate the leftovers.  I could not wait to make Red Flannel Hash.  B on the other hand was holding out for this more traditional version of Corned Beef Hash.

We started with a diced onion, along with boiled new potatoes and the leftover corned beef.  The key to a nice crispy hash is a good skillet, preferably cast iron, a generous amount of butter, and the patience to let it sizzle untouched.

The onion is sautéed in butter until tender.  Then the diced potatoes and corned beef are added.  The mixture is pressed into the pan and allowed to brown lightly on one side, untouched, before being turned over.

Once browned on one side, the hash is flipped in sections, additional butter is added if needed.  The hash is again pressed into the pan to continuing cooking, undisturbed, until the second side is also nice and brown.

Something really special happens when the salty corned beef forms a crispy layer then marries with the buttery onion and potatoes.  It’s that same something found in most rustic dishes, that are so full of character and flavor.

We served our Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs and fresh parsley.  I’m certain we won’t be waiting until next March to enjoy this favorite again.

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Corned Beef Hash {with Poached Eggs}

Something really special happens when the salty corned beef forms a crispy layer then marries with the buttery onion and potatoes. It’s that same something found in most rustic dishes, that are so full of character and flavor.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked corned beef cubed
• 4-5 cooked new potatoes cubed
• 1 onion diced
• 3-4 Tbl. butter
• 3 Tbl. fresh parsley chopped
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 eggs for poaching

Instructions

• In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tbl. of butter. Add onion, sauté until translucent. Increase heat to medium-high, then add the cubed corned beef and potatoes, pressing mixture into skillet. Allow to cook undisturbed for 7-10 minutes, until bottom begins to brown.
• Turn hash over in sections, adding additional butter if needed, then press into the skillet. Cook second side 5-7 minutes until nicely browned.
• Meanwhile prepare poached eggs.
• Serve hash topped with poached eggs, chopped fresh parsley, and cracked black pepper.

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Red Flannel Hash might be characterized as New England Boiled Dinner‘s better half.  As the story goes, no Boiled Dinner is officially over until the last of the red flannel hash is served.  And since no boiled dinner has ever been eaten in just one sitting, this heavenly hash is the icing on the cake if you will.

Red Flannel Hash is not much more than chopped up meat, potatoes, onion, and beets (which give this dish it’s signature red color) but it’s what you do with these ingredients that makes this hash….as comfy as your favorite flannel pajamas.

In cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat and saute onion until tender.  Add garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and saute another minute.  Throw in the diced cooked corned beef, potatoes, and beets and and let is sizzle in the pan.  Resist stirring…we’re looking for a nice crispy bottom before we give the whole thing a big flip.  Trust me the buttery crunchy bits make this hash….special.  Continue cooking until bottom is nicely browned.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Serve topped with poached eggs.

The salty flavors of the corned beef snuggled up to the warmth of the onion and potatoes and wrapped in a blanket of subtle sweetness from the beets….oh my my Red Flannel Hash, how I love you.

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Red Flannel Hash {Sunday Brunch}

Course Breakfast

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 Tbl. butter
• 1 cup onion diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tsp. lemony thyme minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked corned beef cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cooked potatoes cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cooked beets cubed
• additional butter if needed
• 4 eggs for poaching

Instructions

• Melt butter in large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion and saute until tender.
• Add garlic, thyme, salt & pepper and saute and additional minute.
• Add cubed corned beef, potatoes, and beets.
• Press down with spatula and continue cooking over medium heat until bottom becomes crispy brown, 7-10 minutes.
• Flip entire mixture, adding additional butter if sticking to the pan, press down with spatula.
• Continue cooking an additional 5-7 minutes until crispy brown.
• Serve topped with poached eggs.

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Sausage & Potato Soup with Spinach & Bacon could be the cousin of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana.  That however, was not at all my motivation for making this new recipe.  Did I tell you the story of how we scored 30+ pounds of bacon and sausage??  Can you imagine the delight when this text message hit my phone.

We’re food bloggers.  We never turn down free food.  And we certainly don’t turn down bacon and sausage. The next day this cooler showed up outside my door.  We shoved and crammed every last package into our freezer and one pound at a time we’ve been working through this gold mine.

 Check out our Chili Gumbo that I made for Mardi Gras.  That used three packages of the Chicken Andouille.  It was delicious!!

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Rustic Potato Chowder with Bacon.  After one bite I knew we would have to recreate it for Lemony Thyme.  It’s hearty enough to enjoy as a meal and easy enough to become a weeknight favorite.

I was just having a conversation with a friend about how bacon makes everything better.  I’ve shared before that we keep our bacon in the freezer.  That way we always have some on hand and it’s easy to cut into pieces that cook quickly.  Bacon adds wonderful flavor to this chowder, but feel free to omit for a vegetarian version.  Leftover cooked new potatoes also contributed to the minimal effort required.

Rustic Potato Chowder with Bacon.  Another easy weeknight meal to add to your rotation.  Warm, hearty, bacony bowls of love.

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Rustic Potato Chowder {with Bacon}

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 5-6 small new potatoes
• 1 onion diced
• 2 carrots sliced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 4 Tbl. flour
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• salt & pepper to taste
• fresh snipped chives to garnish

Instructions

• If beginning with uncooked potatoes, boil or microwave until just fork tender. Cut into bite-sized pieces; reserve.
• Brown bacon then remove to paper towels to drain. Pour off bacon drippings, leaving 1 Tbl. in soup pan; reserving the rest.
• Add onion, carrots and celery and sauté until carrots are softened; 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 Tbl. reserved bacon drippings and cooked potatoes. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Dust mixture with flour and cook two minutes, stirring frequently.
• Whisk in broth and milk; bring to a gentle boil. Add in sour cream; reduce to a simmer and assess thickness. If thicker soup is desired, use an immersion blender to puree some of the veggies.
• Season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve with sprinkle of crumbled bacon, snipped chives and shredded cheese, if desired.

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Potato Leek Soup with Crispy Sage is creamy and delicious.  With basic ingredients and minimum hands on cooking time, this soup has been added to my comfort food favorites list.

As with several other recipes on Lemony Thyme, when the instructions begin with melting butter in a pan, the first thing that comes to mind is adding fresh sage leaves.  Something magical happens when these two ingredients are slowly heated.  That magic became the base for this yummy soup.  Once the leaves are crisp, remove from the butter and reserve for a garnish.

If you haven’t cooked with leeks before the one thing you need to be sure to do is wash them thoroughly AFTER you slice them.  Dirt has a way of sneaking almost all the way through the length of the stalk, as shown in the picture below.  Remove the outer tough layer, then slice the white and pale green portion into 1/4-inch rings.  Simply fill a bowl full of water and drop in the sliced leeks, giving them a swirl to loosen the rings.  Strain and you are good to go.

Leeks have a wonderful mild onion taste and when sautéed they become slightly sweet and tender.  We sauté in the sage butter until tender, then add a bay leaf, chopped garlic, and lemony thyme sprigs and cook for another minute until the garlic is fragrant.

Diced potatoes come next, the signature ingredient that makes Potato Leek Soup so incredibly creamy and comforting.

Cover potatoes with warm broth and bring to a gentle simmer until they are fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Once the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and add the cream.  Now, either transfer in batches to a blender or use an immersion blender and process until soup is creamy and smooth.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Potato Leek Soup topped with crispy sage leaves and a side of crusty bread makes this hearty enough for a meatless Monday meal.

The chilled version of this soup, called Vichyssoise, is wonderful served as an appetizer.  The subtle flavors of sage and lemony thyme come shining through when chilled.  Do yourself a favor and try it both ways.  Enjoy!

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Potato Leek Soup {with Crispy Sage}

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lg. or 2 small leeks whites & pale green only, sliced
• 1 lb. russet potatoes peeled and diced
• 2 Tbl. butter
• 6-8 fresh sage leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh lemony thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream
• salt & white pepper to taste

Instructions

• Remove outer tough layer of leek; slice whites & pale green of leek into 1/4-inch rings, then place slices in a bowl of water. Gently swirl to loosen rings. Drain.
• Melt butter over medium-low heat in a 2 quart sauce pan. Add fresh sage and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until sage leaves become slightly crispy. Remove sage and reserve for garnish.
• Add leeks to butter and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add bay leaf, garlic and thyme sprigs and cook an additional minute until garlic is fragrant.
• Add diced potatoes and broth and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs, then stir in cream until heated through. Remove from heat and blend either using an immersion blender, or carefully in batches in a traditional blender until creamy and smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
• Serve warm, garnished with crispy sage leaves or served chilled.

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Lightly beer battered fish nuggets, perched on crispy caper tartar sauce slathered onto thick cut chips.  Now that’s a mouthful of love.

We’ll call these our Fish & Chip Bites {with Crispy Caper Tartar Sauce}.  The perfect Friday night nibbles.

Our simple beer batter consisted of flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and beer.  I wanted it to be light but also reminiscent of classic beer battered fish & chips.

This recipe is meant to be playful, one of my most favorite ways to present food.  It just happens to also be mighty tasty.  Crispy Caper Tartar Sauce played a big role in that.  So much so, that it deserved a recipe post of it’s own.  Because besides our beer battered fish nuggets, I would love to dunk Crispy Fried Shrimp in this fabulous sauce.

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As I stepped out of my car I was greeted by the smell of bacon cooking.  I walked through the door and found a sack full of fresh from the garden potatoes on the counter. Loaded Potato Soup was about to be born. 

Start with a heavy sauce pan and cook bacon until crispy.  After removing the bacon to drain, add the diced potatoes and sautéed them until just tender, then remove them from the pan.

Into the pot add the butter, flour, milk and then gradually broth until the desired thickness is achieved.  The garlic and seasoning is adjusted to taste, then the potatoes are returned to the pan to simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve Loaded Potato Soup….loaded.  We like bacon, cheddar cheese, scallions and if we’re in the mood a dollop of sour cream.

Regardless of what time of year it is, soup is good for the soul.

All my best,
xo Libby

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Loaded Potato Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon cut into lardons (omit for vegetarian version and use 1 Tbl. olive oil)
• 2 lbs. potatoes diced
• 3 Tbl. butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1-2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Instructions

• In a large sauce pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan to drain, reserving drippings. Add diced potatoes and sauté over medium heat until just fork tender. Remove potatoes.
• Add butter to pan, once melted whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbly. Whisk in milk and one cup of broth. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Add additional broth to achieve desired thickness. Add garlic, seasonings, and precooked potatoes. Simmer soup gently for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Serve topped with crispy bacon, scallion slices, and shredded cheddar cheese.

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