By Scott Judge
This hearty "Potato Leek Soup" is an amazing comfort soup in the winter months. I like to share this easy recipe that reminds me of my childhood memories with my mother.
These simple ingredients that yields amazing results that bought back memories each time I made it -- and no left overs!
The leek, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. Leek has a mild onion-like taste, less bitter than scallion.
The edible portions of the leek are the white onion base and light green stalk. The dark green portion is usually discarded. You may not know that the leek is one of the national emblems of Wales and they have come to be used extensively in that country's cuisine.
How to Prepare and Clean a Leek Properly
Leeks are dirt magnets and must be carefully cleaned. Here is a simple, effective way to clean your leeks before adding it to the soup. To prepare the leeks; cut off the root end and then cut off the darkest green portion of the leaves down to the light green, which the more tender portion. Remove any ragged or course outer leaves and discard. Slice the leeks down the center and rinse the cut leeks in a bowl of cold water, drain in a colander, and rinse again with running water. All the dirt and sand and inedible leave will be gone, leaving you the perfect leek to use in this soup.
The Secret My Mom Will Kill Me if She Knew I Was Telling You...
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and sauté 3 medium leeks cut into 1 inch slices (remember only white and pale green portions) in a large saucepan over medium heat (preferable a Ceramic Dutch oven style; which does not burn the bottom when cooking) and you want to sauté the leeks for awhile so they are soften well; but do not want to brown them.
Then my mother's secret ingredient in this recipe calls for adding 6 Celery stalks cut in 1 inch slice to the soup saucepan.
Add potatoes 6 medium (Yukon Gold or Russets potatoes) peeled and diced. Add 8 cups of chicken broth. Although we always make the soup with chicken broth, this can easily become a vegetarian soup by simply using vegetable broth instead. Bring the soup to a boil; then reduce the heat to medium to simmer, place cover on saucepan and cook until vegetables are tender about 20 to 30 minutes.
Puree vegetables in batches with some liquid in food processor, blender or I prefer to use the immersed stick blender into the soup saucepan (less cleaning for me). Return puree to saucepan blending well and place over medium heat. Add salt to taste, and add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.of pepper (preferably white) to blend into soup. (Note: This portion of the soup can be made day ahead)
Reheat soup, and finish the soup by adding a splash (1/4 cup of cream) and enjoy this amazing soup with your family.
For years and years I've enjoyed my mother's potato leak soup. So much so, that I begged her to give me the recipe so that I could make it myself.
But this is her secret recipe and if she knew I was giving it away like this, she'd kill me. Of course all of the best recipes are the most secret one's right.
If you'd like more secret recipes not just like this one, but secret recipe's that all of the best restaurants in the world don't want you to know about then click here now!
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