Creamy Vegan Potato Soup with Crispy Peel Topping

Russet potatoes—lumpy, starchy, and unassuming—are the quiet backbone of many comfort foods, from simple to sumptuous, particularly when dairy is involved. This soup leans toward the simple side: an abundance of potato, rounded out with cashew milk and vegan sour cream, yields a thick, chunky soup reminiscent of loaded baked potatoes. Even though it's called "baked," the potatoes actually simmer in vegetable broth and cashew milk, a method that cuts down on time and boosts the potato flavor. Before pureeing, be sure to scoop out a generous portion of the cooked potato, or the soup will turn out more like mashed potatoes. And for the crispy peel topping—a vegan stand-in for bacon bits—the less potato flesh left clinging to the skins, the crisper your fried bits will be.

Info

• Cook time: 40 minutes
• Total time: 40 minutes
• Yield: About 2 quarts; 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch (about 6) scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth (see Cook's Note)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks, and peelings reserved
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Smoked paprika (hot or sweet), for dusting
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegan sour cream, plus more for serving
• 4 to 6 ounces vegan cheddar shreds (1 to 1 1/2 cups)

Instructions

1. Warm a medium heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the scallion whites, and all but about 1/4 cup of the scallion greens; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Pour in the broth and cashew milk, then add the potatoes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a generous amount of pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender and crumble easily when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. At first, when the mixture comes to a boil and for a few minutes of simmering, the cashew milk may appear curdled; once the soup is pureed, it will become smooth.
2. While the potatoes cook, pat the reserved potato peelings completely dry. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Lay the peels flesh-side down in a single layer and fry, turning once or twice, until golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes total. Using a slotted spoon, move them to paper towels, then immediately season with salt and a generous dusting of smoked paprika, and transfer to a plate or rack—the longer they sit on the towels, the faster they lose their crispness.
3. Once the potatoes are done, turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to scoop one-third to one-half of the chunks into a bowl. Puree the remaining mixture in the pot with an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, let the mixture cool slightly, then puree in batches in a standard blender. (See Cook's Note.) Stir in the nutritional yeast and vegan sour cream until smooth.
4. Return the potato chunks to the soup, crumbling them a bit as you add them. Warm over low heat until hot; it doesn't need to boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper as needed.
5. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and top each with some vegan cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, and some of the reserved scallion greens. Crumble the potato peels over the top.

Notes

Boxed vegetable broth varies widely in color and flavor; for a whiter potato soup, choose a clear, light-colored broth rather than a carrot-heavy orange one. Pureeing the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender keeps it rustic; using a standard blender yields a silkier, slightly more elegant texture. However, a standard blender can also make the soup a bit pasty because it breaks down the potato starch so thoroughly.