by Carol Larsson

Created on: December 06, 2009

Soupe aux Poireaux, pommes de terre.
Leek and potato soup.

This is the soup recipe I find myself returning to again and again. If you have never made homemade soup before, this is a good recipe to start with. It has simple ingredients, is fairly easy to prepare and it makes a lovely, tasty soup for a cold day.

The ingredients below serve four to six;

1 lb (450g) potatoes

1 lb (450g) leeks
3 oz (75g) butter
4 cups (1 pints UK or 1 liter) of warm water
Salt and pepper
1 cup ( pint UK or 275ml) of milk

Peel the potatoes and cut up into small cubes, leave to one side.
Trim the leeks but keep any green parts that look good enough to eat, then slice the leeks into small ( inch) lengths. Put the leeks into a colander, and then rinse the leeks well under running water. Leeks can be gritty as dirt can be caught between the leaves. Then drain.

Melt the butter in a large pan, when it is hot and bubbling, but not browning, add the leeks. Put the lid on the pan and cook the leeks gently over a low heat until softened but not brown or colored in any way.
Add the water, prepared potatoes, salt and pepper. Raise the heat under the pan until the water reaches boiling point then simmer gently with the lid on for about 30 minutes. The soup can now be blended. I use a stick blender, you can use a potato masher to press lightly or even a wooden spoon.
At this point, you can if you wish leave your soup to serve later in the day.

When you are ready to serve, add the milk reheat slowly to boiling point, adding extra milk if necessary. Simmer for a few minutes then serve.

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