Do you ever buy some kind of produce at the grocery store that looks good but have no idea what you want to make with it? Happens to me all the time. I always think once I have it, I’ll figure out what I want to make. And that’s exactly what happened recently with leeks. I made a visit to my local farmers market and picked up a couple leeks but had no idea what I wanted to do with them. I also had a couple potatoes leftover from making Clam Chowder last week so I thought a Potato Leek Soup would be a logical thing to make.
First, I have to admit I’ve never had potato leek soup before. Weird, huh? So with that in mind, I had no idea what it’s suppose to taste like. But that’s what I love most about cooking. Experimenting in the kitchen, making up something to eat without any real plan. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This time it did.
I started off by sautéing the leeks in butter/olive oil with a bit of chopped garlic. Then I added some chicken broth, white wine, thyme, salt & pepper, diced potatoes and let that simmer until the potatoes were cooked. Once the potatoes were cooked, I blended the soup in the pot with an immersion blender, added some cream and gave it a taste. It had a nice, mild taste. Is that what it’s suppose to taste like? I don’t know. For me, I needed a bit more “zing” so I added some Old Bay Seasoning and that seemed to do the trick. If you don’t have Old Bay, it’s perfectly fine to omit. I liked it, so I added it to the recipe below.
- 2 leeks, sliced and cleaned
- 2 lg. Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 Tbls. butter
- 1 Tbls. olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme (remove leaves from stems)
- 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 3 C. chicken broth
- ½ C. white wine
- ½ C. cream (I used light, but you could use heavy, or half & half)
- Slice the white and light green portion of the leeks. Soak in water to remove sandy debris, then drain.
- Melt butter and olive oil in soup pot. Add leeks and sauté until they soften. Add garlic, salt and pepper and cook another minute or two.
- Add chicken broth, white wine, thyme, and Old Bay seasoning. Bring to low boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are cooked and soft, about 15 minutes.
- Blend soup with immersion blender. Add cream. Stir to combine and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
- Garnish with a bit of fresh, grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
