Worlds Colliding Cheesy Potato Soup

I love when my worlds collide in the kitchen.  So I grew up in the U.S. I was born in Mexico and I live in Ecuador married to a Georgia Southern man.

This soup is a smorgasbord of all those roots. Ecuador has a Potato soup called Locro de Papa which you see in this recipe with the Achiote, feta, mozzarella and avocado.  My Mexican roots with the garlic, cilantro and onions and coating the potatoes with this  first. And my husbands Southern roots with the bacon and heavy cream. Gotta have that bacon in any vegetable dish if your cooking Southern food, right.


Ingredients
10 medium sized potatoes chopped
1 white onion, diced
4 slices of bacon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks of celery
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp achiote powder (optional)
6 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of heavy cream or more
1 cup grated or crumbled cheese (mozzarella or monterey jack)
1 cup of instant mashed potato mix
1 bushel of cilantro finely chopped
Salt to taste
Top: 1 cup of feta cheese crumbled
Avocados, sliced or diced

1.In a large pot cook bacon slices.
2. Then remove the bacon and add the onions, garlic, cumin, celery and achiote powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
3.Add the potatoes to the pot and mix until they are coated thoroughly. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring a every couple of minutes.
4.Add the broth and bring to boil, cook until the potatoes are very tender. Mash the potatoes in the pot, but don’t mash all of them.
5.Turn the heat down to low, stir in the cream, cook for about 5 more minutes. You can add milk if the soup is too thick. Then add the instant mashed potato mix.
6.Add the grated cheese and cilantro, mix well, and remove from the heat.
Serve and top with feta! Ecuadorians also top it with avocado slices, it's really good with avocado!

Picture from the Examiner.com