Potato and leek soup

April 22, 2003

I had the house to myself over Easter. The Spouse headed north for a lawn bowls tournament. He asked me to come along, but I really didn't fancy trying to keep myself amused in another city while he got his exercise and he certainly didn't seem too aggrieved when I declined. Sometimes blokes need time to themselves!

As the wife of one of his fellow players said when asked to tell me what fun she was having: "I'm sitting in a bowling club and they're drinking beer.‚" I have nothing against that, but I don't need to travel a few hundred kilometers to do it.

Good Friday at home turned out to be a damp, dark, gloomy day with a chilly southerly blowing in for good measure.

No doubt about it - summer was over and it was soup weather.

I think I must have had a premonition about the weather as I shopped on a sunny afternoon earlier in the week. I spied some handsome leeks and bought some "just in case."

Friday saw me chopping and dicing and brewing up a good pot of leek and potato soup that was to keep me sustained for a couple of days.

This is a good tasty soup but a very easy one to make. You can stick to the basic recipe, or jazz it up a little depending on how much trouble you want to go to.

Potato and Leek Soup with Variations

1 large leek
2 tablespoons oil
3 medium potatoes
1 cup chicken stock (the real thing, or use stock powder)
low fat milk
salt, white pepper
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Slice the leeks, taking care to separate the green ends and rinse off any dirt. This is easily done by cutting the darker ends lengthwise, rinsing them separate then rolling them together again to chop.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the leeks (1) until they soften. Meanwhile dice the potatoes ( scrub them or peel them first). Add to the leeks (2) and saute a further five minutes then add the chicken stock (3). You should just cover the vegetables. Add more if necessary.

Bring to the boil, turn back to a simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Now decide if you want a smooth or chunky soup. Process in a blender or use a wand blender. I use the later and just break the potatoes up a little, still leaving some chunky bits behind.

Add the milk and seasonings (4) and stir in the parsley and simmer again until piping hot.

Serve with french bread or wedges of pizza bread (5).

VARIATIONS:

Try one or two of the additions below:

A teaspoon of good curry powder
Fresh corn kernels
Chunks of smoked fish
Fresh oysters (just reheat - don't overcook)
Peeled prawns
Spinach chiffonade
Sliced mushrooms sauteed in a little butter