Georgian Potato Soup

Georgian potato soup (from the country of Georgia, not the American state) walks a line that American cooks rarely travel: a savory soup built around sweet fruit notes. Apple juice, applesauce, raisins, and chopped dried apricots simmer with onions, garlic, and diced potatoes in chicken stock for a broth that hits the tongue sweet before the savory follows.

The technique is clever. Most of the soup gets pureed smooth after the first cook, but a reserved portion of diced potatoes goes back in after puréeing to give the finished soup chunky texture alongside the velvety base. Both mouthfeels in one bowl.

A cream-and-cottage-cheese mixture whisks in at the very end, thickening the soup and adding subtle dairy tang without ever letting it boil (boiled cream breaks). The result is pale gold, silky, just-sweet-enough, and distinctive from any potato soup you have tried before. Serve with crusty dark bread.

Chef Tips

• Toast the aromatics at high heat. The crusts that form on the bottom of the pot are concentrated flavor you want to scrape back into the soup.
• Use a smooth applesauce, not chunky. Chunky applesauce leaves apple lumps that do not puree evenly.
• Puree half, save half. This split-texture method is what separates this soup from a monotone cream-of-potato.
• Warm the cream mixture gently by stirring a ladle of hot soup into it before adding. Cold cream dumped into hot soup curdles.
• Do not boil after adding the cream. Low heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes is all you need.

Variations

• Swap apricots for dried cranberries or chopped prunes for different dried-fruit notes.
• Add 1 teaspoon of paprika or a pinch of cayenne for a warming spice note that plays well with the fruit.
• Use sour cream in place of cottage cheese for a tangier, smoother cream mixture.