Creamy Potato Leek Soup
By: Chelsea Martin
Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 9:09am

Ingredients




1 pound leeks
2 shallots chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups low sodium chicken stock (homemade makes all the difference but if not pick a hi
1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes not peeled or Idaho potatoes peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation

1 Peel thick skinned potatoes or if using a thin skinned potato like Yukon Gold omit the skinning step. Dice up the potatoes so they cook easily. 2 Trim the green portions of the leek reserving about 1/3 to chop and include in the soup. 3 Halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well. Make sure all the sand is removed! No one wants a gritty soup. 4 Slice the keeps thinly and set aside with the chopped leek greens. 5 Peel and finely chop both the garlic and the shallots. 6 In a 5 qt. dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic, shallot, red pepper flakes, and white pepper to the butter. Cook until soft. 7 Add the wine and bring to a boil for about 3 min. Add chicken stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender. 8 Allow soup to cool before pureeing in the blender.  In small batches puree the soup in a food processor or blender. Run the processed soup though a strainer to remove any chunks no blended. 9 Return the soup to a pan to reheat. Once reheated, stir in cream and adjust the seasoning. 10 I reserve a little cream to drizzle in the middle of the bowl right before serving.

About


This tasty soup isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day. It will be a winner all year long. Try it with ingredients as they become available seasonally. Garlic scapes offer a unique flavor as do wild onions/leeks known as ramps. I strongly recommend using a very flavorful stock. It will really beef up the depth of flavor.