Leek and potato soup

 

This is a really good, hearty soup and completely different from its cousin Vichyssoise, which is served chilled. See in Variations. I think it needs plenty of potato to give it body. Some people like it puréed to a velouté, some people prefer it hearty and chunky. I prefer it half way between the two, but unless you go for totally puréed, you really to have to be sure that the potatoes are of a floury variety. Chunks of potato really don’t complement the smoothness of the leeks. I don’t peel the potatoes, but again that’s a personal choice. You can add milk of any type. Some people like to swirl in cream, at the end, but I would only want to do tat when having the soup as a starter. Sour cream is better – otherwise the result can be a bit cloying.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves 4 for a starter, 2 for a main course

Ingredients

1 large or 3 small leeks

2 large tbsp butter or olive oil

salt

2 large, floury potatoes

4 cups mushroom stock, or water

1 cup milk

coarsely ground black pepper

Method:

• Trim the discoloured top off the leek(s). If the leeks are very dirty, slit them in half or quarters from the top down towards to root end, and swirl around in plenty of water until clean. Otherwise, you will probably find the dirt is only in the lower part of the green leaves and the upper part of the white, in which case you can just slice that part out and wash it separately.
• If you want to garnish the soup with crispy, fried leek tops (see Variations) cut off about 30 mm/1 inch of the green top, slice very thinly and set aside.
• Now, take your clean leek and chop it.
• Heat the butter/oil in your pressure cooker and add the leek. Sprinkle with about 1/4 tsp salt to help it soften and fry until the pieces are soft and silky in texture. If you wish, you can remove a couple of spoonfuls and set aside, to add at the end for additional texture.
• Cut the potato into cubes, skin and all. Add to the pan and sauté for another couple of minutes, then add the stock or water. Bring up to pressure and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Let the pressure reduce at room temperature.
• Allow to cool slightly and then add the milk.  Mash, or purée to the required consistency. Season to taste: the saltiness will depend on whether you have used seawater and/or stock, and then grind over lots of black pepper and stir in the reserved leeks, if you’re using them.  Reheat until piping hot and serve.
  

For a full meal, serve with fresh bread.

Variations:

• garnish with 4 tbsp sour cream
• garnish with 4 tbsp chopped chives
• garnish with crisp green leek tops, heat a frying pan, with a good glug of oil over a medium-high heat. Drop in a piece of leek, and when it bubbles and floats to the surface, add the rest and fry for a couple of minutes, until they go crisp but still maintain some of their colour. Remove with a slotted spoon
• For Vichyssoise, which really needs to be served chilled, use half the potatoes and equal amounts of milk and water. When the soup is cooked, mash it or blend it smoothly – it’s supposed to be a velvety purée – and then chill it on ice or in a fridge, if you have such a thing. Serve with cream. This looks particularly attractive if it’s swirled on top of the soup.