Leek and Potato Soup

Originally I had planned to make a fancy potato leek galette with thin sliced potatoes, leeks scattered throughout and just a smidge of cheese sprinkled on top. However, when I posted the introduction to leeks everyone told me about potato leek soup that is apparently the best thing in the world. I started researching some recipes and they all called for different things. Some used mostly potatoes, extra herbs, special broths, put it through a ricer, blend it at the end, throw in heavy cream, crème fraîche, buttermilk and I tried to just distill it into one common thing. Cook leeks and potatoes together, combine a creamy element at the end and combine it into a consistent mixture.

I tried to do my own measurements and I wanted to make it more leek focused instead of potatoes. I only had coconut milk so that went in there instead of heavy cream.

Prep for these was nerve racking since they are so huge and I absolutely hate wasting food. I mentioned I didn’t want to make any stock out of the leaves because I wouldn’t use the stock, but man was I tempted after chopping off the dark green.

I still feel like I chopped off way too much but I guess I will just have to live with that. There were split opinions on when to wash the leeks as well. Some say before chopping and others say after so I chose afterwards since I could just throw them in a colander with some water and toss them. I split them in half though and, you guys, they are mesmerizing on the inside.

All the layers of leaves really make it look like an onion and I am not ashamed to admit that when I slice an onion it hits my eyes hard. I should sharpen my knife so it wouldn’t be so bad but these smelled so pleasant. My eyes were tear free and it was a fresh onion smell which made me think of spring. It was a nice thought since we were waiting for snow to come on through. Anyway, this was easier than I thought it would be once I got things going.

I just used one pot and a blender in terms of dishes used to cook (let’s just not count the colander) and that was fantastic. I had never blended soup before so that was another new experience for the day and I was ecstatic that it turned more green than anything. I knew I was going to get more of a leek flavor than just a really good potato soup. In terms of taste it was super simple and exactly what I want comfort food to be like.

There are two things that I will always try to find a way to work into foods and that is hot sauce and green onions. I used green onions for just a garnish but man did they taste way different than the leeks. I kept thinking of leeks as massive green onions so I was ready to taste nothing but that but they weren’t that at all. It was a nice surprise and now I feel like I may have a reason to work more leeks into dishes. Let me know what y’all think if you try it out!