When the weather gets cold, there’s nothing better in my mind than good soup. And for the first soup of the cold-weather season, potato-leek soup I think is the best choice. There’s nothing particularly original or special about my potato-leek soup, except that this is how I make it, and Alan likes it. :-)

The story about the soup itself is interesting. Apparently potatoes, a so-called New World crop, were thought to be poisonous, or inedible, or possessed by the devil, or something (sort of like the bad rap the tomato also had in Europe). So Augustin Parmentier was this French guy who was captured during the Seven Years War (which is different from all of the other wars that coursed across the face of Europe at the time in that it lasted seven years) and was a POW in a German camp where he was fed…potatoes. So when he returned to France there was a famine or two, and eventually Parmentier, who was fascinated by food chemistry and remembered his full belly in Germany, eventually convinced his fellow French folk that potatoes were good eats. Read the whole story at soupsong.com.

Items

  • 5-6 medium leeks, white part only, cleaned well, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin
  • 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and also sliced thin
  • 3Tb butter (potatoes love butter more than olive oil for some reason)
  • 48oz (or so) of vegetable or chicken stock. I am a big fan of Imagine Foods’ “Organic No-Chicken Stock” which you can get at many supermarkets these days.
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or half and half (or milk even if you’re really concerned about fat content)
  • 1Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 cup scallions, sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
  • A stick blender to puree the soup, or you can do it in your blender (but messier!)
Method

  1. Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat and add leeks. Turn heat down a bit and sweat the leeks, covered, for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add the potatoes (which you can peel while the leeks are cooking), and add the broth. You want to cover everything with about 2 inches of liquid. Turn up the heat to medium and bring to a boil.
  3. Turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
  4. Puree the soup with the hand-blender (or whatever) until smooth.
  5. Add the cream (or whatever), white pepper, and paprika and combine.
  6. Add the salt to taste. Potatoes need a fair amount of salt, but you may disagree.
  7. Serve topped with scallions and chives.

Serves 6-8. Reheats beautifully.