Potato and Leek Soup

Potato and Leek Soup is an absolute CLASSIC. The leeks give the soup a delicate flavour and the potato gives it warming substance. Lovely. This recipe serves 4.

The recipe recommends whizzing the soup smooth but you can just leave the lumps of leek and potato in the soup.  Some people like it better like that.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of oil - olive oil is good because it adds its own flavour

1 large onion

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1 large or 2 small leeks

2 large potatoes

1 vegetable or chicken stock cube

Equipment

A sharp knife and a chopping board
A potato peeler
A big pan
A blender or food processor to make the soup smooth at the end

How to make your Potato and Leek Soup

Get the vegetables ready before you start.
1. Chop the onions (A lot of recipes involve onions so chopping them is an important skill to learn).

Don’t worry if your chopped onions are different sizes.   You are going to whizz it smooth anyway.

2.  Prepare the leeks

Slice the leeks into rings about a centimetre thick.

3.  Prepare the potatoes

Dice the potatoes roughly into cubes.

4.  Prepare the Garlic and Crush It

Now you can get on with making the soup.

5.   Put the oil into a pan and heat this up over a low to medium heat. Add the chopped onions to the pan.  They should sizzle a little bit,  but you want to cook the onions slowly without them getting brown.  So watch them cook.  If they are sizzling alot or starting to go brown,  turn down the heat.

6.  Keep cooking the onions until they start to go soft (about 3 – 5 minutes).   Then add the garlic,  chopped leeks and potatoes and stir so that the vegetables are coated with the oil.    Allow these to sizzle for another three minutes,  still taking care not to let the onions go brown.

7.   Boil a kettle and add enough hot water to the pan  TAKE CARE! so that the vegetables are covered completely (about 1 litre),  then crumble in your stock cube.   Stir gently and then turn the heat up to medium until the water starts to really bubble.  The soup is now boiling.

8.   Turn the heat down, so that the soup is only bubbling a little bit at the edges.  The soup is now simmering.

9.  Leave the soup to simmer for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are soft when you poke them with a knife.  While it is cooking,  check the soup every 5 minutes.  Check it is still simmering.   You may need to turn the temperature up or down.  Make sure the water is covering the vegetables.  If it isn’t,  add more hot water from the kettle.   Also,  stir the soup with a wooden spoon, to make sure the vegetables are not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

10.  When the leek and potatoes are soft,  turn off the heat and leave the soup for 5 minutes to cool down.  If you have a stick blender,  whizz up the soup while it is still in the pan.   If you are using a blender or food processor,  carefully transfer the soup to the processor.

11.  Put the soup back in the pan. Now TASTE IT. It will probably need some pepper and perhaps some salt (although the stock cube will have been quite salty.)  This is your potato and leek soup,  so you decide when it is right.   Then warm the soup up again and serve in bowls.

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Other Soup-er Recipes

Easy Minestrone
Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
Carrot and Coriander Soup

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