Estación Liceu

How a Leek Becomes a Soup

The last time I made leek soup, RJN requested that I post some pics next time so that he didn't have to take chances with the search term "leek." I don't blame him. Anyway, Ryan J, we decided to make it again last night and it was soooo good. I remembered to take some pics, too!

So, the first thing you do is buy 4-5 leeks and sometimes the grocery clerks ask you what they are because they don't know the PLU thingie. I always was scared of leeks prior but I'm glad I sucked it up and started using them. Anyway, your leeks will look like this:



You have to cut the flags (big leaves) off and then you are left with mostly the white stem. Oh, and cut the root end off too. It's also a good idea to remove the first layer of white. Then you are left with the beautiful part of the leek that is like those little Russian dolls, so many leek layers inside of each other. Rinse these out under running water since they are famous for trapping dirt. Then chop them up and add them to some olive oil in your pan to sautee until tender. The green color gets even more beatiful as they cook.



When the leeks are tender, add about 4 c. cubed potatoes (we used Yukon Gold) and about 5 c. chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, throw in some salt, pepper, whatever, and then wait until the 'tatoes are soft. When that happens, blend the soup up. We have a lovely Kitchenaid immersion blender for just such tasks but you can also run batches through a regular blender. Return the blended stuff to the pan and slowly stir in cubes of cream cheese until you have added a full 8 oz. bar. Then you are done! We had ours with some crusty French bread heated in the oven. Oh, and I won't do the green onion garnish again. I love green onions but the crunchy-ness got in the way of the cozy texture of the soup on its own. We are definitely going to put this soup into our more regular meal rotation.

posted by Kelly @ 5:26 p. m.