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Monday, March 23

Tonight's Dinner....gilded potato/leek soup!

My friend Derek in "the LV" suggested that I send him some of the recipes for the dishes I whip up, so he can post on one of the many work/play sites he is always talking about. I don't measure anything but will try to re-create what I made tonight!

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 stalks of celery, ends trimmed, sliced 1/4" thick
  • 2 leeks, just the white part, root end cut off, then sliced 1/4" thick
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 3 medium thin-skinned red or gold/yellow potatoes, diced
  • 1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
  • 1 large boxed container veggie or chicken broth
  • small handful fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dry
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To save time, start sweet potatoes 10 minutes before other items. Put sweet potatoes in a small pan, cover with water and bring to boil. Parboil 3 minutes. Turn off heat. Do not drain! Heat up broth separately.

Put the sliced leeks in a bowl, fill with water, swish around with your hands to ensure any dirt between pieces is washed away. Lift out of water with a large slotted spoon or wire basket. Set aside.

Using a heavy bottomed soup pan (Dutch oven, etc.) turn heat to medium high. Add olive oil, wait a couple of minutes for oil to heat. Add diced onions and celery. Saute 3 mins. Add leeks, saute 2 minutes. Add parboiled sweet potatoes along with water from pan, the potatoes and sweet red pepper. Add basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Add heated broth and enough hot water to cover all vegetables.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a low boil/heavy simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn heat off, and using a potato masher, carefully mash soup to desired consistency. Soup will be very hot so be very careful! Return to heat, taste, and adjust seasonings. Add 2-4 tablespoons of butter, Smart Balance (vegetarian), or Earth Balance (vegan). Stir, let sit 5 minutes.

Serve with warm crusty bread topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes and basil leaves, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy!

7 comments:

loopykd said...

I never saw your blog before. Now I'm subscribed so I can read. I don't measure but I do record in my Living Cookbook program so I can reproduce some of my stuff. I love creating recipes and repeating them accurately. Kinda fun! I'm trying to recreate one tomorrow with sea bass and lemon basil cream sauce. If it turns out, I'll post pictures and the recipe.

Knit Witch said...

That looks yummy!!! Thanks!

Alpaca Granny said...

Oh, my, Chris, I can just taste this!!!
I hate cooking but love eating.

nordwolke said...

That looks really yummy. I might come back to this when I am in the mood for soup again. :)
Interesting blog, interesting personality!

Anonymous said...

YUM! I've been wanting to make potato leek soup for a while...definitely will try your recipe at some point. I never measure either but since I started blogging recipes I try to pay a *little* (very little) more attention.

Lizeth Alfaro said...

Wow that looks amazing!

Susie said...

Love your blog! Already in my faves. This soup looks delicious! I'd make it except for the fact that my pubescent children would make rude noises. Damn kids. I'll keep the recipe though for a dinner party.