Cooking Ruthi : Potato and Leek Soup
Wow, I must really be in the mood for soup! Well, its not quite hot yet so its best to get it out of my system before the weather takes its usual sweltering turn towards summer. Which is sort of funny, because you eat most foods warm, but soup just makes you feel so warm all over when you eat it, its definatly best when its chilly out. Anyways, without any further ado~ I present to you...
Leek and Potato Soup!
First, the ingredients.
*48 ounces of chicken broth. (I prefer the organic kind/low fat, because it cuts back on sodium. Brands like College in, Or Swanson are usually my favorite.)
* 4 cups of water
* 3 cups of heavy cream
* 2 stalks of leeks
* 3or 4 large baking potatoes. (depends on how actually large they are)
* half a medium onion
* 2 cloves of garlic
* 6 slices of bacon
* 2 tbsp of butter
* salt and pepper to taste
It's also recommended to have a food processor to make this, but if you don't, a regular old hand potato masher will work just fine. You aren't wanting to totally blend this, just make it a little smooth. Its not going to be as thick as a chowder...unless you prefer it like that :3
To begin, you'll want to chop up your ingredients and have them all ready to go. A rough chop is fine, since we'll be giving it a whirl in the processor. If you're hand mashing, maybe a littler bit finer will make it easier in the long run c:
Let's start with the leeks.
First, cut the bottom part off, where the little roots are.
Place the knife towards the top of the stalk,
And then cut downwards, splitting the leeks in half.
Pull the leaves apart a bit, and wash between them very well. Leeks grow out of the sand, and get dirt between their leaves. Most stores wash them pretty well, but there is usually a bit of grit left behind. Nobody wants to eat that :c
After the are washed, lay them out in a bunch and chop them into little green rings. If the outer leaves are alittle tough, just peel them off and discard.
Next, chop the onion. Take off the top and bottom ends, then cut in half. Save the other half for future recipes.
Laying the onion down on its flat side, slice about 3/4's up the onion, like so
Turn the onion horizontal, and slice downwards, this is a much easier way to chop, since it keeps the onion held together and the pieces aren't flying everywhere.
Now, crush each garlic clove with the flat end of your knife, peel the skin, and chop.
Peel the potatoes. I do mine roughly, because I like to leave a bit of the skin on. The skin is good for you and gives the soup a more rustic feel.
Chop them roughly, cutting out any bad pieces.
Next, the bacon. pile the slices on top of each other, and slice it up. Its much easier to chop it now, then after its cooked.
Now, Take a medium sized skillet, and throw the bacon in. Put the burner on medium heat, and fry up the bacon, between 5-8 minutes. (You might want to cook up an extra slice, if you like to nibble at it after its cooked. Its bacon after all )
Scoop out the bacon with a slotted spoon and put aside. Reserve about 2 tbsp of the left over grease, letting it cool some to avoid splatter, then toss the onions and garlic in. Cook until it softens up and turns translucent, then place aside.
Throw the butter into the skillet and let it melt.
Now toss the leeks in.
Now is a good time to throw some salt and pepper in.
Saute the leeks until they are a little wilted, maybe 5 -10 minutes.
Now get a big stockpot and place it on the burner, adding the chicken broth.
Add the water.
Now, add all the ingredients you just chopped/ sauteed.
Bring everything to a mild boil on medium high heat, and let it cook for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and fall apart to the touch of a fork.. Take off the heat, and let it cool a bit.
Now this would be where you used the masher, and lightly smooshed the ingredients for about a minute. However if you have a food processor, pour in about a third of the soup, filling the processor about half way. You don't want to overfill, because it will overflow and that is AWFUL. Make sure there is equal parts liquid to yummy bits, so you might want to ladle it, so you can control what goes in.
Add a cup of the cream,
And then pulse lightly. like one or two bursts, you still want it chunky. Sprinkle abit of pepper and salt to taste, as potatoes love to soak up sodium when they boil.
Pour into bowls and serve! Some nice crusty bread will go lovely with this, but I didn't have any :c
You will have lots of soup leftover with this recipe. Pulse together the soup and cream in 2 more batches, and put in containers to refrigerate or freeze. Each batch yields about 2-3 bowls, so all together, 6-9 servings. This soup is so good, it takes me about 5 minutes to gobble down a bowl >.>