It’s simple to make, cosy and comforting yet also luxurious and elegant. I love how this Leek Soup can be Couch Food OR an elegant starter for a dinner party. Good food is a universal language!
Leek and Potato Soup
Though France might be the epicentre of Michelin star restaurants (second only to Tokyo!) where sauces come in the form of foam and dishes are given excessively fancy names, the heart and soul of French food is simple food made well. It’s rustic, cosy, and often generous on the butter and cheese. Hence French food and I are very good friends. (Hello Quiche Lorraine, Gougeres, Potato au Gratin, French Onion Soup…to name a few of my best mates!) Leek soup is another such example. (Though no cheese!). Few ingredients, prepared well. It’s quick to make, and ridiculously delicious!
What goes in Leek and Potato Soup
Here what you need:
Leeks – essential for a LEEK soup!! 😂 Though if you are desperate to make this an leeks are obscenely expensive / you can’t get your hands on them, substitute for onions; Potatoes – use starchy or all rounders, they fall apart when simmered which means less blending for creamy soup = less risk of gluey soup*. 🇦🇺Australia: Sebago (dirt brushed, most common potatoes), 🇺🇸US: Russet 🇬🇧UK: Maris Piper; Broth – I choose chicken because it has more depth of flavour than vegetable stock/broth. But vegetable stock is also ideal here! Creamy is optional. This soup is still thick and creamy even without, it just adds a luxurious mouthfeel.
- Common problem with Potato Leek Soups that call for blitzing to death until completely smooth. Power of blender = activates starch in potatoes = gluey. Same thing that happens if you use a food processor or blender for mashed potato!
How to cut leeks
Trim the root off. Take a peek and if you can see dirt in the layers, then split the leek in half and separate all the layers, wash them well, then slice per below. If you don’t see dirt (like mine pictured above), cut your leeks as pictured below:
Cut off the dark green reedy top and discard (leftmost on leek above); White end (and the very pale green part) – finely slice; and Pale green middle part – peel off reedy outer layers and finely slice the softer middle part.
How to make Leek and Potato Soup
Leek are like onions – they have a pretty harsh raw flavour. So the key to a really great Leek Soup is to slowly sauté them in garlic butter until they transform and become soft and sweet. It’s kind of like caramelising onions for French Onion Soup – except we don’t take it as far.
After that, just plonk the potatoes and stock in, simmer until the potato is literally crumbling (the softer they are, the less blending we have to do = better soup texture, no risk of “gluey soup”). Blitz, stir in cream and serve!
I like to serve mine with croutons. Just a teeny tiny sprinkle of crunchy buttery bread somehow magically makes any soup so much more fabulous. And while this is a potato based soup, that still doesn’t stop me from tearing up hunks of crusty warm bread, slathering in butter and dunking into the soup. Carb on carb fabulousness! – Nagi x PS Or try one of these Soup Dippers – these existing on my website pretty much solely for the purpose of dunking into soups and stews.
Soup Dippers
Watch how to make it
Originally published October 2015. Spiffed up March 2020 – most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Cactus and Dozer is like me and chilli – I know it’s gonna hurt, but I just can’t resist.
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