What I Just Cooked: Leek And Potato Soup

Leek and potato soup. This is such a simple soup to make. All you really need is water, a potato, and 1 - 3 leeks, depending on the size of the leeks. To make it richer, you can add the optional ingredients of milk or half-and-half or cream (depending on how rich you want to make it) and maybe some nice cheese (I like provolone but pecorino is nice too). To make the soup, you just need to peel and wash the potato, cut it into smallish cubes and put it into a medium pot. Add water just to cover. Bring water to boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Add about a tablespoon of salt (or less to suit your taste or dietary requirements) and a sprinkling of pepper. Cook for about fifteen minutes. In the meanwhile clean the leeks. This is the only really tough part because leeks are a pain.

The way I clean leeks is this: first trim the leeks and get rid of all the tough green parts (the yellow and yellow-ish green parts are still good for soup); after trimming, take a large knife and cut the leek in half, beginning from just below the root (you want to keep the root attached because this will make it easier to clean); now clean the leek under running water, making sure to check between all the layers of the leek. But another way of cleaning leeks is this: cut off the root end; cut the leek in half; slice the leek the way you would slice an onion; put the cut-up leeks into a bowl; put water into the bowl; swish around and get the leeks clean; drain the leeks into a colander; rinse again with water; let drain.

If you cleaned the leeks my way, slice up the leeks. If you cleaned the leeks the other way, you're ahead of the game. By this time, the potatoes which have been simmering should be ready. Add the leeks and cook for another five minutes. Then, using either a blender or a food processor, blend the soup until it's nice and smooth. At this point, you can add the optional ingredients, the milk or the cheese or both. And serve.

Today I served the soup with little rectangles of toasted sour dough bread.

How did it turn out? I'd give it an A. It's a very filling soup. I used cream and cheese, with a garnish of sour cream. For a really cold day like today, boy, did I need the cream!