I love love LOVE potato soup recipes, and even though I haven’t talked about it lately, I have a major thing for curry recipes. Now that the weather is turning cold freezing (I swear, I can’t feel half of my toes right now), all I can think about is soup. I’ve been craving hearty soups that fill you up and keep you warm for the rest of the night. If they’re not hearty, what the hell is the point?
When I was growing up, I hated soup. It was messy, it was sloppy and you couldn’t really chew it. I was completely baffled by soup and wondered why people were so infatuated with it. But as I got older, I discovered something wonderful: blended soups. Here was something I could enjoy! These soups had some tooth to them, something I could savor and [almost] sink my teeth into. Blended soups were thick and velvety, not drippy and watery like the soups I’d grown up with. I was in love.
I still don’t like runny soups, so I tend to throw every recipe I come across into the blender. This poses a problem, though – how do you blend soup without making a huge mess? With the advent of stick blenders came ease and convenience, but these things inevitably splatter a layer of soup across your stove and kitchen walls. Serious bummer.
We solved the problem, though. My husband fashioned a crazy simple solution out of a cardboard box that fits over our Dutch oven – he basically cut a hole in the top of the box where the blender fits in, allowing freedom of movement while still containing the mess. I should really post a photo of it one of these days. It’s magical.
The curry potato soup recipe here is a slightly modified version of the Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup from Elise’s site. I’ve changed a few things, but the biggest difference is the addition of lamb meatballs. One of my favorite flavor combos (besides peanut butter and chocolate) is lamb and yellow curry, so the first time I tried her soup, the only thing I could think was “OMG this would be incredible with lamb!”. So, I added it. It was amazing.
This soup freezes well, so make a huge amount and save some for those nights when you just don’t want to cook, or you’ve contracted one of the various plagues that get passed around this time of year. When I’m sick, this soup is my go-to meal. This stuff will cure what ails ya!
Curry Potato Soup Recipe with Lamb Meatballs
The ultimate cold weather curry recipe.
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (half a stick)
- 1 medium leek, chopped (use the white part)
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 medium turnip, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds red potatoes, cubed
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pound ground lamb, rolled into 1-inch meatballs
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
- 3 zucchinis, sliced in half length-wise and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and melt butter. Cook until the froth subsides.
- Add the leek, bell pepper, carrot, turnip and cumin seeds. Cook until the onions are soft, about six minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the turmeric, curry powder and mustard seeds, cooking for a minute more. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the potatoes, broth, water, cauliflower and salt. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Brown meatballs on all sides (as well as you can with a ball), about ten minutes total. Remove from heat.
- Add the corn and summer squash, cooking until the vegetables are cooked through, about ten minutes. Remove from heat.
- Use a stick blender to purée two thirds of the soup – be careful, this can make a huge mess!
- Pour puree back into the pot and mix well. Add meatballs and cook for another five to ten minutes to incorporate flavors.
- Add more salt, pepper and curry powder to taste.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
another lovely photo! Love it!
Learned to love soup in France, and my husband, from Sweden, gobbles up anything made from potatoes. The lamb meatballs sound so unusual. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
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we’ve been eating a lot of soup lately! it’s frigid where i live. and i love leeks and potatoes and curry. am going to print this recipe right now!
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Love potato soup, love lamb … not so hot on curry, but this does look good. Love the photo too.
I have a big pot of curried sweet potato soup with pb on my stove top as I write this! Like you, I can’t get enough of the stuff. Beautiful pic too, Stephanie!
Perfect for the cold and rainy weather we’ve been having. Beautiful photo, wish I could see the lamb meatballs
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I’m not much of a lamb lover, but I think I will try this without!
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I coulod eat the picture. Love potato soup. Love curry. Love lamb. What is not to love about this recipe? Nothing.
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Wow–I need a copy editor to follow me around and clean up all the comments I leave on blog posts. Could vs coulod? Yikes.
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Hi Stephanie! We made this soup last night (my friend Sue is visiting from Portland and she and James made it while I nursed the baby and did damage control with the other kids) and it was delicious. We forgot to buy some of the ingredients so we used celery root (!) instead of cauliflower and we did not have zucchini. The lamb meatballs were amazing (we had them on the side because my oldest is a vegetarian). But, here’s what I really want readers to know: the soup was even better today after the flavors had a chance to meld. Also, I suggest making a DOUBLE RECIPE because it was so yummy we ate it all up!
Beautiful photo! It just warms me up on this chilly day! Oh yeah, I love lamb, potatoes and curry too!
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What a creative recipe for soup. I’ve never tried this, but I love curry and lamb as well. I think they would go well together. These pictures are great and the recipe looks easy to follow. Thanks for the idea!
-Sylvia
Citizen Signature Collection
Love the idea of this soup! I make soup at least once a week for my lunches – I just bought curry powder and was wondering what to do with it – I plan on reducing the butter by half though. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
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