News From The Trail
  • Home
  • About us
  • Thousand Trails
  • RVontheGo
  • Archives

Classic Potato Leek Soup

January 17, 2019 by thousandtrails

Potato Leek Soup

It may be a new year, but we are bringing to you a classic soup recipe that is so classic, it’s almost forgotten! Potato Leek Soup is a hearty, warming soup that can be made gluten and/or dairy-free to suit whatever dietary needs you want to abide by this year or anytime.

We love this recipe, not only because it uses seasonal ingredients, but many of the ingredients can be substituted, added, and subtracted, according to your tastes. Also, the recipe is naturally gluten-free! This soup will keep for about 3-5 days in the refrigerator and can be stored in the freezer for about 2-3 months.

Tips:

The thing about leeks is that you have to clean them thoroughly. See, leeks have lots and lots of layers, kind of like it’s cousin, the onion. Because of how the leeks grow, dirt from the ground gets easily trapped in its layers. One way to clean a leek is to cut off the bottom stem and the top green parts so that you are left with a white cylinder. While the water is running, fan out the layers so that the dirt is washed away. You’ll want to do this for a while so that you can be sure that you’ve done a thorough job.

Another way to wash leeks is to also cut down to the white cylinder part of the leek (the same way as described above) and then chop the leek into rings. Grab a big bowl and fill it with cold water. Put the chopped leeks into the bowl and move the leeks around in the water. Then, grab a colander and with your hands, take the leeks from the bowl of water and put into the colander so that the excess water comes off and goes into the sink. By manually retrieving the leeks from their cold water bath to the colander ensures that the dirt you are cleaning off doesn’t transfer back onto the leeks.

An immersion blender is not necessary for this recipe. A regular blender will work perfectly for this recipe as long as you blend in batches.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of potatoes; cleaned and roughly chopped

2-3 leeks; white parts only; cleaned very thoroughly; chopped

3 cloves of peeled and smashed garlic

4 sprigs of thyme

1 tablespoon of dried rosemary

1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)

7 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or, 7 cups water and 2 cups mirepoix)

1 cup milk or cream

Garnish options:

fresh chives

chopped scallions

bacon

fried sage leaves

parmesan cheese

Substitutions:

substitute almond or non-dairy milk for milk or cream

substitute margarine or vegan butter for unsalted butter

use a mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery that has sweat on the stove for about 5 minutes) and water instead of chicken or vegetable stock

Equipment:

A large, heavy bottom pot (ideally, it is nonstick)

Immersion blender, or regular blender

Instructions:

  1. Thoroughly clean leeks and potatoes; mince garlic; roughly chop potatoes.
  2. In a large, heavy bottom pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the garlic and leeks. Cook these for about 10 minutes, stirring often so nothing gets too brown.
    • Tip: add a little bit of regular olive oil to the butter so it doesn’t burn in the pan! Not too much though, you don’t want your soup to be oily
  3. Add potatoes, stock, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. If you’re using a mirepoix mix, add it at this stage.
  4. Let everything come to a boil.
  5. Once boiling, cover the pot and lower the heat so that the soup is sitting at a light simmer. Let this simmer for about 15-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
  6. Retrieve the thyme sprigs and discard them.
  7. If using an immersion blender, the time to blend is now and you do so directly in the pot. If using a regular blender, transfer the soup mixture to the blender in batches until smooth. For both methods, adding a bit of extra broth or water to thin out the soup mixture is up to you.
  8. Once the entire mixture is blended, add the cream or milk or non-dairy milk.
    • *Note: if you are planning to freeze this soup, freeze it without the cream/milk/non-dairy milk. When you defrost the soup, add in a little bit of cream/milk/non-dairy milk to the portion, mix, and re-heat.
  9. Put the mixture back into the original pot and turn on the stove, mixing with a spoon to ensure that everything is combined and that flavors are melting together.
  10. Serve hot and garnish with your favorite toppings.
Posted in: Cooking On The Go, Recipes Tagged: foodie, potato and leek soup, recipes, seasonal recipes, soup season

Archives

  • May 2020 (5)
  • April 2020 (6)
  • February 2020 (8)
  • January 2020 (4)
  • December 2019 (4)
  • November 2019 (3)
  • October 2019 (5)
  • September 2019 (4)
  • August 2019 (4)
  • July 2019 (5)
  • June 2019 (2)
  • May 2019 (4)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (4)
  • January 2019 (5)
  • December 2018 (5)
  • November 2018 (6)
  • October 2018 (6)
  • September 2018 (6)
  • August 2018 (6)
  • July 2018 (6)
  • June 2018 (5)
  • May 2018 (6)
  • April 2018 (5)
  • March 2018 (6)
  • February 2018 (5)
  • December 2017 (4)
  • November 2017 (6)
  • September 2017 (6)
  • August 2017 (6)
  • July 2017 (6)
  • June 2017 (6)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • April 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (6)
  • February 2017 (5)
  • January 2017 (6)
  • December 2016 (5)
  • November 2016 (5)
  • October 2016 (6)
  • September 2016 (6)
  • July 2016 (5)
  • June 2016 (5)
  • May 2016 (5)
  • April 2016 (5)
  • February 2016 (5)
  • January 2016 (5)
  • December 2015 (5)
  • November 2015 (5)
  • October 2015 (5)
  • September 2015 (5)
  • August 2015 (5)
  • June 2015 (9)
  • May 2015 (3)
  • April 2015 (5)
  • March 2015 (1)
  • February 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (9)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (5)
  • August 2014 (13)
  • July 2014 (11)
  • June 2014 (10)
  • May 2014 (7)
  • April 2014 (8)
  • February 2014 (1)
  • January 2014 (7)
  • December 2013 (8)
  • November 2013 (7)
  • October 2013 (8)
  • September 2013 (17)
  • August 2013 (7)
  • July 2013 (15)
  • June 2013 (7)
  • May 2013 (9)
  • April 2013 (9)
  • March 2013 (8)
  • February 2013 (13)
  • January 2013 (14)
  • December 2012 (11)
  • November 2012 (11)
  • October 2012 (11)
  • September 2012 (11)
  • August 2012 (10)
  • July 2012 (11)
  • June 2012 (6)
  • May 2012 (6)
  • April 2012 (5)
  • February 2012 (13)
  • January 2012 (8)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (5)

Copyright © 2021 News From The Trail.

Composer WordPress Theme by themehall.com