sheilas leek and potato soup
This is my mums recipe and just right for this time of year
Ingredients for base:
3 lbs cleaned, sliced leeks (the white part and a bit of the tender green)
3 lbs peeled thinly-sliced potatoes (preferably old or baking potatoes.)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb butter
2 quarts chicken stock (home-made or canned)
(ash note I add a pinch of fresh nutmeg)
(ash note you can halve this yourself but for thirds its 1 lb each leeks and potatos, 1 small onion, 2.5 tlbspoons butter, 2.5 cups stock)
1. In a deep kettle, sauté the leeks and onion very lightly in the butter. Add the potatoes and the chicken stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for about thirty to thirty-five minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Purée in a food processor or blender. (Do small amounts at a time and pour into a bowl or other container as you go.)
3. This completes the base, which may now be stored in individual containers of a size to suit your own needs, and refrigerated or frozen.
Ingredients for finished soup and variations:
Salt
Pepper
Milk
Heavy cream
Chopped chives or scallion greens
Carrots
Parsley
Parsnips
Chopped Dill
Watercress
Spinach
Cauliflower
Broccoli
(I deliberately leave salt and pepper out of the base - there is often enough salt in the chicken stock to flavor it - so that they can then be added to suit one's individual taste when the soup is to be completed and when one has decided whether the soup is to be served hot or cold. Cold soups "eat up" seasonings and generally require more than hot soups do.)
As to the following additions, I have not specified amounts because you really have to experiment and decide what tastes best for you. However, as a rule of thumb, I can suggest the following:
For one quart of Leek and Potato soup add ¾ cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste to 3¼ cups of base, and then heat gently, stirring with a wire whip, sprinkle with chopped chives or minced scallion greens and serve. (If you prefer a less caloric version, use milk and a small amount of heavy cream, or all milk and no cream at all.)
For Vichyssoise, add salt and pepper and heavy cream to the base in the same proportion as above, mix with a wire whip, and chill. After chilling the soup, you may wish to stir in a little more cream. Taste carefully and correct the seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives before serving.
For cream of carrot soup, slice and cook some carrots, blend into the base in a food processor, add the milk or cream and reheat, serve lightly sprinkled with minced parsley. (Use same process with either broccoli or cauliflower. The versatility of this soup base is endless.)
I also made a "root soup" by adding cooked parsnips and several handfulls of chopped dill to the base before adding the cream and heating. The result was a slightly sweet-tasting interesting combination.
Fresh watercress or spinach, stemmed, can be added to the base, simmered for five minutes or so, then puréed.
Ingredients for base:
3 lbs cleaned, sliced leeks (the white part and a bit of the tender green)
3 lbs peeled thinly-sliced potatoes (preferably old or baking potatoes.)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb butter
2 quarts chicken stock (home-made or canned)
(ash note I add a pinch of fresh nutmeg)
(ash note you can halve this yourself but for thirds its 1 lb each leeks and potatos, 1 small onion, 2.5 tlbspoons butter, 2.5 cups stock)
1. In a deep kettle, sauté the leeks and onion very lightly in the butter. Add the potatoes and the chicken stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for about thirty to thirty-five minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Purée in a food processor or blender. (Do small amounts at a time and pour into a bowl or other container as you go.)
3. This completes the base, which may now be stored in individual containers of a size to suit your own needs, and refrigerated or frozen.
Ingredients for finished soup and variations:
Salt
Pepper
Milk
Heavy cream
Chopped chives or scallion greens
Carrots
Parsley
Parsnips
Chopped Dill
Watercress
Spinach
Cauliflower
Broccoli
(I deliberately leave salt and pepper out of the base - there is often enough salt in the chicken stock to flavor it - so that they can then be added to suit one's individual taste when the soup is to be completed and when one has decided whether the soup is to be served hot or cold. Cold soups "eat up" seasonings and generally require more than hot soups do.)
As to the following additions, I have not specified amounts because you really have to experiment and decide what tastes best for you. However, as a rule of thumb, I can suggest the following:
For one quart of Leek and Potato soup add ¾ cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste to 3¼ cups of base, and then heat gently, stirring with a wire whip, sprinkle with chopped chives or minced scallion greens and serve. (If you prefer a less caloric version, use milk and a small amount of heavy cream, or all milk and no cream at all.)
For Vichyssoise, add salt and pepper and heavy cream to the base in the same proportion as above, mix with a wire whip, and chill. After chilling the soup, you may wish to stir in a little more cream. Taste carefully and correct the seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives before serving.
For cream of carrot soup, slice and cook some carrots, blend into the base in a food processor, add the milk or cream and reheat, serve lightly sprinkled with minced parsley. (Use same process with either broccoli or cauliflower. The versatility of this soup base is endless.)
I also made a "root soup" by adding cooked parsnips and several handfulls of chopped dill to the base before adding the cream and heating. The result was a slightly sweet-tasting interesting combination.
Fresh watercress or spinach, stemmed, can be added to the base, simmered for five minutes or so, then puréed.