Potato Leek Soup
I just dove right in to making this soup. No cookbooks, no recipes, just the basic idea of what soup should be, how it should taste and how to use the ingredients I had on hand, procured at my favorite market in the world, Central Market in Central Park, Austin, Texas.
In the past, I've started with chicken broth, and I did have some canned but I just didn't use it this time. It was easier to use the boiling water for the taters.
I also had some modifications to my usual routine, given that I was not in my own kitchen. I'm using my parents' kitchen, which was very familiar to me from 1970 to 1987, when I used to cook here from once a day to once a month (after I got my own place). And in high school, as a home ec project, I "organized" the kitchen into zones, centers, triangles and some other thing that was in the textbook. So I used to know where everything was. But no more. Too many cooks spoil the kitchen organization.
So, I started by sweating the chopped leeks in olive oil and butter, along with three cloves of crushed garlic. Pinch of kosher salt too. The water for the taters was on but didn't boil for a very long time (the space age gizmo on the stove doesn't trigger properly with certain pots), so I ended up turning off the leeks in the soup pot while the potatoes cooked in another - the pasta pot.
The taters sorta overcooked, just a bit, but since I was mashing/pureeing the soup anyway, it didn't matter much. That's the good thing about potato soup. I used Yukon Gold taters because I'd never had them before, but they were not that different from Russett, and I know that is culinary blasphemy. Perhaps when you boil, there isn't much difference?
Anyway, I drained off half to two-thirds of the boiling liquid but retained the rest, added the leeks and brought the whole thing to a boil again. Mash in the pot, puree with stick blender or in the blender, then add ½ c. milk. Adjust the seasoning (kosher salt, white pepper, fresh thyme), and it is ready.
I served this with good Italian bread and butter, in deep bowls with thick soup spoons. Hearty, filling and fragrant. It freezes well for a rainy day or a bad cold.
In the past, I've started with chicken broth, and I did have some canned but I just didn't use it this time. It was easier to use the boiling water for the taters.
I also had some modifications to my usual routine, given that I was not in my own kitchen. I'm using my parents' kitchen, which was very familiar to me from 1970 to 1987, when I used to cook here from once a day to once a month (after I got my own place). And in high school, as a home ec project, I "organized" the kitchen into zones, centers, triangles and some other thing that was in the textbook. So I used to know where everything was. But no more. Too many cooks spoil the kitchen organization.
So, I started by sweating the chopped leeks in olive oil and butter, along with three cloves of crushed garlic. Pinch of kosher salt too. The water for the taters was on but didn't boil for a very long time (the space age gizmo on the stove doesn't trigger properly with certain pots), so I ended up turning off the leeks in the soup pot while the potatoes cooked in another - the pasta pot.
The taters sorta overcooked, just a bit, but since I was mashing/pureeing the soup anyway, it didn't matter much. That's the good thing about potato soup. I used Yukon Gold taters because I'd never had them before, but they were not that different from Russett, and I know that is culinary blasphemy. Perhaps when you boil, there isn't much difference?
Anyway, I drained off half to two-thirds of the boiling liquid but retained the rest, added the leeks and brought the whole thing to a boil again. Mash in the pot, puree with stick blender or in the blender, then add ½ c. milk. Adjust the seasoning (kosher salt, white pepper, fresh thyme), and it is ready.
I served this with good Italian bread and butter, in deep bowls with thick soup spoons. Hearty, filling and fragrant. It freezes well for a rainy day or a bad cold.
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