Potato and Leek Soup

I think everyone can agree that cold times = warm soup. Or freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk.. But maybe more commonly the soup?

Yesterday wasn't freezing or anything, but the teeny tiniest cold makes me want some soup. And cookies. And yesterday I was just a little bit cold so I took the opportunity to make me some of that warming stuff. 

This soup is so easy peasy lemon squeezy, the hardest part was just peeling and chopping and that didn't even take me long. The waiting was pretty hard too, especially with the intoxicating smell of brewing soup (which seemed to get worse whenever I stuck my face in the pot). See those four photos above? That's basically the whole process.The only thing I did wrong was accidentally add an extra half litre of stock, which made my soup a little thinner than usual, which was still pleasing, it wasn't the consistency of water or anything, but you might want to start with the smaller amount of stock and add more after you blend the soup if you want a thinner consistency.

I made a lot of soup, and that's because we're a family of like, a million eight, and we like to eat a lot. You can call it a hobby. But you can easily make this soup and freeze the rest to have a stash of soup whenever you need it. Or you can be normal and just half the recipe for a normal amount of family members. The choice is yours.

Potato and Leek Soup

From my mums archive

(serves 8 to 12)

50 grams butter

900 grams leeks (around 6 leeks), sliced and washed

700 grams potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium onions, chopped

2 1/2 to 3 litres of chicken or vegetable stock (see note above)

salt and freshly ground pepper

300ml single cream (optional)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan (if you're making this amount, if you're making half the amount I'm sure your saucepan can be medium sized). Add the leeks, onions and potatoes and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft but not browned. 

Stir in the stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer and cover for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Blend in the food processor or handheld blender until smooth. Return to pan and taste, season if needed. For a more creamy soup you can stir in the single cream (I skipped this step, but have done it before and it is deeeelish).