Recipes: Potage Pommes de Terre et Poireaux (Potato Leek Soup)

Inspired by an incredibly delicious leek soup I had in Gruyères last week, I wanted to make a simple soup for lunch with ingredients I had on hand.  It turned out to be delicious! 

Recipe and more photos after the jump!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 leek (the fatter the better!)

3 large celery stalks, washed

2 cloves garlic (in this case I used powder for lack of fresh, not ideal but it will do)

1 large potato, washed

butter (can substitute with desired oil)

chicken (or vegetable) stock

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

fat free milk (optional)

*ignore the ginger pictured, I decided not to include

-Wash leeks (use only the white and light green parts of the base for the pureed soup, also cut 1-2 inches of the dark green part for garnish), making sure to clean out all dirt between layers. Be sure to keep the white/light green and the dark green leeks separate!

-Finely chop the dark green leeks and sauté in butter (shown below) and a splash of chicken stock on medium/low heat for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Remove dark green leeks from pan, set aside.

-Roughly chop the white/light green leeks and celery (btw--celery is by far the most fun vegetable to chop in my opinion, so go nuts) and toss into pan, add garlic (or garlic powder), sauté with butter and chicken stock until soft, about 5 minutes.

-Cut potato into small 1" chunks (the larger the potato pieces, the longer the cooking time) with the skins on (don't miss out on the Vitamins B & C, iron, calcium, potassium and fiber in the skin!) and toss potatoes into the pot (shown below). 

-Add salt, pepper, and cayenne; fill pot with chicken stock until ingredients are all submerged. Cover with lid, cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

-Using an immersion blender, (if you don't own one, they are inexpensive and a great tool to have in the kitchen! For a temporary fix, you can use a a blender, hand mixer or even a potato masher) purée the mixture until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more chicken stock or even milk for a creamier texture.

-Garnish each serving with the dark green sautéed leeks, once mixed in it adds a subtle yet important texture that really completes the soup.

Et voilà!