Yummy Potato Leek soup

Ok, I know what you are all thinking….leeks….ewww! Well, I’m here to tell you I felt the same way until my father-in-law made some of this delicious soup. This recipe comes mostly from his kitchen but since he’s no longer with us, my mother-in-law is the judge and she says he’d like it.

Here’s to you Roger!

• 1/2 tsp of unsalted butter (for cooking the leeks)
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 4 medium sized potatoes (peeled and chopped. Smaller cooks faster but you’ll be mashing or pureeing them anyways)
• 6 leeks (cleaned and sliced thin-I like leeks so I use more. Most recipes call for 2-3. You decide)
• 1 cup heavy cream (most recipes call for 1/2 cup, I use a whole cup and reduce the water accordingly)
• 3 cups water (chicken stock is better, but it’s very salty unless you make it from scratch to control the sodium. I always use homemade chicken stock. Be careful, this can get salty)
• Pepper to taste

Celery is optional in this recipe but I’m including it to make this healthy. Saute the celery with butter in a saucepan for about two minutes, then add the leeks. Keep those greens moving until the leeks are limp so it doesn’t burn.

Toss the leeks, celery and potatoes into a stockpot and add water till everything covered. It’s about 3 cups, but I cook like I’m feeding an army, so feel free to pare down the amounts as needed. For some reason, soup multiplies when it’s cooked and you’ll end up with more than you’d think.

Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and soft. Add the cream. Now, here’s the fun part. When cooked, you need to puree everything down as best you can. I started by using a potato masher and just worked the soup until it was as pulverized as I could get it. My wife mentioned that we had a hand mixer and I’ve been using that ever since. If you’ve got one, great. If not, the soup will still win awards. Just get it as creamy as you can. You can use a food processor, but you really don’t have to and it’s an extra step of cleaning that I think is over kill.

30 minutes from start to finish and you are a hero! Add salt and pepper to taste, but again, be careful. Leeks have a bit of a salty taste themselves, and if you use chicken stock it could get too salty. Stay away from the chicken buillion cubes. Those are just nasty.

Here’s my guess on the nutritional info, based on other recipes.

Under 200 calories per serving, about 38 from fat.

This is SO much better than the Whopper combo you were gonna have! Enjoy.