Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

One of my all-time favorites! This is a hearty vegetarian soup that packs a lot of flavor. I love making a loaf of the No-knead crusty white bread to go along with this soup.

Chopped veggies I always look for thick Leeks with only a little bit of green at the top.

  • 6
  • 25 minutes
  • 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
  • 5 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
  • 1 quart vegetable broth/stock (or chicken broth)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon snipped chives

Directions

  1. Chop the leeks into small pieces. Rinse any lingering dirt off of the leeks that appears while chopping them; I throw them in a colander and toss them around under running water.
  2. In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.
  4. Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.

Notes

  • This is the best way I have found to clean the leeks. I usually do one leek at a time after I’ve chopped it. Just throw it into the colander and separate all of the pieces under running water.

  • You can also substitue chicken broth for the vegetable broth. Some vegetable broths and stocks are very dark and can give the soup a darker, browner color. I used vegetable stock in the main picture on this recipe, which gave it a browner color. I have made this using chicken stock and it does come out lighter, with more green coming through from the leeks. Below is a pic of when I made it with chicken broth:

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