CLASSIC FRENCH POTATO AND LEEK SOUP

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.
In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
― Julia Child

I absolutely love eating tasty food. Cooking?...ummm not so much, seems like a lot of hard work and preparation for a few minutes of enjoyment. What to do? What to do? In order to address the problem, Mr T and I are on a quest to find simple delicious recipes that are easy on the eye and the budget and as a side bonus, I can practise food photography at the same time.

“What’s that?” said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.
“Bouillabaisse,” said Hermione.
“Bless you,” said Ron.
“It’s French,” said Hermione.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

 

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FRENCH POTATO & LEEK SOUP

(A Julia Child recipe adapted by Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats)

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Ingredients:

2 tbsp / 30 g butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only sliced thinly (about 2 cups). You can substitute the leeks with onions.
12 oz / 350g potatoes, peeled & diced . Use normal supermarket potatoes nothing fancy.
4 cups (1 litre) chicken broth/stock
1/4 cup / 65 ml heavy cream (or milk for a reduced fat version)
Salt and pepper

Serve with:
Croutons
Crème fraîche garnished with freshly chopped chives

Method

• Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and leek and sauté for 7 minutes until soft and sweet.
• Add stock and diced potatoes, cover & simmer for 25 minutes or until potato is very soft.
• Turn the stove off and whiz with a stick blender until JUST smooth. Do not over puree or it will turn yucky, all gluey & sticky.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir through cream or milk.
• Serve with a blob of Crème fraîche, garnished with chives and croutons on the side.
• To make croutons – Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Use 2 thick slices of bread torn into crouton size pieces. Spray or drizzle bread with olive oil & bake for 5 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Season with salt.

We decided to use left over baguette instead of making croutons but unfortunately my sous-chef, Mr T, cremated the remaining 2 slices but they looked ok-ish once we’d given them a bit of a scrape. Despite this minor setback the soup was a hit and very delish.

Isn’t it amazing how the little touches like Crème fraîche, chives or croutons can just joosh up a dish and transform it from boring to posh?

I think good food should be relished, eaten guilt free and with gay abandon.

Happy eating,

Moira