February | 2007 | Afterlife Cafe

Cold weather invokes the need for soup in my mind. Not just any soup but something hearty and filling. Potato Leek Soup doesn’t quite cover what’s in this recipe but it’s shorter than potato, carrot, red onion & leek soup with lots of dairy added.

Part of what I like about this soup is the make ahead aspect of most of the veges. They can be prepped and cooked a few days ahead or even a month in advance if frozen after cooking.

Potato Leek Soup
Step 1 – roast the veges

4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 pound carrots
2 red onions
olive oil
salt & pepper
fresh thyme

Peel potatoes & carrots. Using a mandolin slice potatoes and carrots into 1/4″ slabs. Slice red onions as well to a similar thickness.

Create a foil pouch and add the veges. Pour over a goodly amount of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and few springs of thyme. Close up the pouch and roast in a 425°F oven for about 40 minutes. Check vegetables to make sure they are cooked through.

I’ve also roasted this combination of vegetables on the grill in the same foil pouch type set-up. It makes a nice side dish to grilled chicken.

If you aren’t making the soup immediately cool thoroughly and then refrigerate until ready to make the soup.

Step 2 – make the soup

2 bunches of leeks
canola oil
2 cups vegetable broth
water
4 cups milk
ground ancho chili
salt & pepper

Prep the leeks by slicing off the bottoms and most of the green leaving mostly white and light green. Split the leek in half and then rinse under running water to remove dirt and mud. Once cleaned slice into half moons.

Heat a large dutch oven (10 qt plus), add a couple of tablespoons of oil and saute the leeks with a bit of salt & pepper for 5-7 minutes until tender. Add the roasted vegetables, broth and enough water to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are heated through, 10-15 minutes.

Using a food processor work in batches to puree the vegetables. When everything is pureed return it to the dutch oven and put it back over medium heat. Add the milk one cup at a time, stirring to fully incorporate each cup.

Allow the soup to come back up to temperature and serve. We garnished ours with a roasted red pepper coulis. A bit of chopped chives or a dollop of sour cream would have been nice as well.