Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup.

Menu Description: "A house specialty full of baked potatoes and topped with Cheddar cheese,
bacon and green onions."

The thick-and-creamy texture and rich taste of Tony Roma's best-selling soup can be easily
cloned with basic ingredients. This TSR version is thickened with a little flour, some half-andhalf
and, most notably, instant mashed potatoes. Give yourself an hour to bake the potatoes and
around 30 minutes to prepare the soup. Garnish each serving with shredded cheese, crumbled
bacon and green onions and you will have a home kitchen Tony Roma's recreation that will
surely impress.

2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced white onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 cup half and half


Garnish
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
2 green onions, chopped (green part only)


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes
have cooked remove them from the oven to cool.

2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and sauté onion until
light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.

3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop
baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.

5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then
reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.

6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded
cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green
onion. Repeat for remaining servings.

Serves 6 to 8.