Sunday, March 18, 2012

Potato and Leek Soup

Sundays are wonderful things. They are a little gift at the end of each week, especially Sundays that you haven't scheduled to the brim. Today was one of those days. I slept in, lounged around, lingered over planning my weekly menu (as I am no longer on Spring Break and the luxury of going to the market for dinner ingredients every few days is no longer an option,) and went to see my sister's winter percussion performance. I drove with my windows down, hair blowing all over the place, and sang to the radio turned all the way up. It's official, Spring is here.

Soup is a wonderful thing to eat on Sundays. It is easy, filling, and homey. I heated up some leftover potato and leek soup and caught up on my Google Reader blog reading.

Potato Leek Soup

1/2 pound bacon (I used turkey bacon, but the pork counterpart is perfectly fine)
3 leeks, whites and light green onion, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalked celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 Idaho baking potatoes, evenly diced (no need to peel first)
3 cups milk (I used skim, but any kind will do)
3 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free)
toppings: bacon, green onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese - at least that is what I like on my soup.

Chop your bacon and crisp in a dutch oven over medium heat; remove to paper towels and let drain. Remove all save for 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan (or add some olive oil if your turkey bacon didn't give off much fat) and saute your leeks, onions, and celery. Sweat for 8-10 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant.  Add diced potatoes, toss, and let soften for 8-10 minutes. Add milk and chicken stock, cover, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer - cook until potatoes are tender. Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender, or stand blender. If you would like, which I do, don't puree the mixture completely and instead leave some yummy chunks of potatoes. Right before serving, stir in the plain yogurt.

Sauteed leeks, celery, onions, and garlic, cooked in the turkey bacon fat and some olive oil

Once the aromatics were tender, I added the potatoes to soften

Potato soup is my mom's favorite, and we like to eat potato soup "loaded," meaning topped with cheddar cheese, (turkey) bacon, green onions, and sour cream. And of course, two separate platings - both of which were served in whole wheat homemade bread bowls, topped with bourbon smoked sea salt. Mmmm.






7 comments:

  1. Wow this looks super yummy! You have a knack for the most creative recipes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just put items together that I really love and I think have commonalities in flavor (leeks are earthy and wholesome, just like potatoes) and usually my experiments turn out edible... and sometimes they don't, trust me. I also read A LOT of cookbooks, magazines, and blogs that give me most of my ideas to try in the kitchen. I like to call it research.

      Delete
  2. leeks is such an odd vegetable... first time i ever had it was while in Spain!! we made potato and leek gnocchi (sp?) and it was delish!!! can't wait to get back and start tryin' some of these recipes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leeks are odd, though I love them with all my heart! I am trying to use them more in my cooking - they add such a deep, wholesome, "cooked all day" element to dishes. I recommend using them in a quiche or simmered down in some beef stew or pot roast.

      Delete
  3. This is katieq's Mom.....Yes, that is definitely my favorite soup and it was yummy! Thanks, Kate!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment Mom! I'll make this for you any time!

      Delete