Princess Makes It Monday - Simple Potato Ragout Recipe

It's like a soup made from potatoes and gravy - mmmmmmmmmmmmm....
So I got the idea for this recipe watching Jacques Pepin.  With a few simple tweaks, it was simple enough for Princess to make it.

SPH Potato Ragout
A few tablespoons of olive oil
1 pound bacon (more if you'd like - you can also use cubes of ham or pancetta)
2 packages Simply Potato (brand) Diced Potatoes with Onion
@3 tablespoons flour (I used Gluten Free Pantry brand All Purpose Flour)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (feel free to use more to taste, or fresh if desired)
1 quart size box chicken stock/broth (I use Pacific brand Organic Free Range Chicken Broth)
Salt and pepper to taste

Start with the defrosting process.  My bacon was like a brick, so we defrosted it in a container of water.  We also took it out of the package to take away some of the salt and smoke.  You can rinse your pork product of choice if desired.  Next time, we won't do this.  Well, defrosting IN the package in a container of water, yes, soaking the pork, no.  We also defrosted the potatoes the same way - the onions in these packages can be really sharp.

Here is Princess draining the buckets:

And here she is again, snipping the bacon into little pieces.  This is a great way to eliminate a lot of the fat.

After she snipped the bacon, she browned the bits in a large cast iron pan with the olive oil over medium-high heat.

Once the bacon has browned, drain it on some paper towels on a plate.  Remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Drain about half the oil from your pan.  Then, add thyme and flour.

Stir til thickened, then add potatoes...

... and about half the chicken stock.

Cover, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Remove lid and stir.  It will look like this:

Continue to cook and stir, adding more stock if necessary, for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are good and tender.  Return bacon bits to pan and stir.  Taste and add salt and pepper, if desired.  Et voila!

Everyone agreed that it's really good.  We all also agreed that the pork needed to contribute more to the party, so next time it won't get soaked, or even rinsed.  If you use a pork product that is really salty, though, feel free to rinse and/or soak.  Another agreement:  This would probably be a good candidate for the crockpot on a really busy day.

Someday, I'd like to try it again, completely from scratch like Jacques did, just to compare.  Either way, it's simply delicious!

Enjoy!