Potato Leek Soup w/ Sandwich and Salad

Potato Leek Soup

It’s winter and the air has been cold. We’re expecting a rainy week and I’ve got a feeling we’ll be eating a lot of soup to keep us warm. When we make soup, we like to make a big batch so we have extra to freeze for another day. This potato and leek soup never made it to the freezer. It was just too good and with the weekend upon us, leftovers mean easy lunches. The heavy cooking can wait for evening.

Potato leek soup is a simple, hearty meal made all the better with the added rich flavors of bacon fat and savory homemade chicken stock. An enriching dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream, a grind of black pepper and a dash or five of Tabasco round out the steaming bowl of thick, savory yum.

The stock used for this beauty was made from the leftover bones of a Limon Rotisserie chicken be brought home for an easy takeout meal. We love the restaurant’s Peruvian take on roasted chicken and we love what the extraordinary mix of herbs and spices used to flavor the birds adds to the stock we create with what most folks would discard (a terrible waste, in our opinion).

With a small sandwich (goat cheese and prosciutto on our no-kneed loaf pictured) and a romaine salad with a simple bleu cheese dressing (bleu cheese, a bit of sour cream, mayo, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper whisked together) made for a perfect after-run lunch this afternoon.

The Recipe:

2 slices of bacon

3 leeks washed and trimmed of darkest green parts (save them for stock!), chopped

1 lb. organic Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat large straight-sided frying pan over medium high heat and add bacon strips. Fry until crisp to render fat. Remove to a plate to drain on paper towels. (The bacon can be put aside for another use or crumbled on top of the hot bowl of soup at serving time.)

Add leeks to pan and sauté in bacon fat until wilted. Add stock, potatoes and two bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves. In batches, puree the potatoes, leeks and broth in a blender. Pour each blended batch into a clean pot and continue to puree until all of the soup has been well blended.

Serve soup in warmed bowls and top with your favorite condiments – crème fraiche, sour cream, plain yogurt … you get the picture.