I love to make soup year round. But when cooler/wetter weather arrives, there’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot homemade soup. Potato and Leek is one of my favorite combinations. This recipe has bacon and white wine, so it’s full of flavor, and very economical to make.
I have been cooking and baking for most of this Sunday. I have kept my promise to cook what’s in my fridge, pantry and freezer so I have made soup, baked muffins, cooked artichokes, made an aioli and egg salad (with Old Bay Seasoning)– many of these items are for our lunch boxes, for the work week.
It’s about 78 degrees outside, so my husband thought I’d really lost my marbles when I announced that I had made soup for lunch. He had been outside, doing yard work, and feeling pretty hot and sweaty. Still, he liked it and I loved it!
My inspiration to make the soup came from a need to use the beautiful spring garlic and leeks I received in my CSA box.
Truth be told, I had no idea what spring garlic was– until my friend told me that there is a clear difference. Upon close inspection, I see what she means– the spring garlic is a little smaller than leeks and have a purplish stripe. They smelled very mild. I decided to add this to my soup, though it wasn’t part of the printed recipe.
I also have a several quarts of frozen turkey stock, my from Thanksgiving Turkey. Bless that bird’s heart, I never waste a chicken or turkey carcass. I decided to thaw that and my decision was made– hot or not, I was going to make soup for our lunch boxes– and we are expecting rain by Tuesday.
Potato and Leek soup has been making the food blogosphere rounds, along with bundt cakes and all kinds of baked baked goods. I stumbled on Emeril Lagasse’s soup recipe and I paused… bacon, white wine and creme fraiche. Not only did I have all three ingredients on hand, I liked the idea of adding bacon!
I had already prepped my leeks– for those of you who haven’t work with these, they can be very full of soil. My preferred way to prep them, is to cut them lengthwise and then in half moons. I put these into a colander and into a bowl with water…. swish, swish, swish… the dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl, and I’m in business!
I loved the idea of the garni, but I had already trimmed and tossed the greenery from the leeks, to better fit into my apartment size refrigerator (I dream of owning a large refrigerator). I also realized I was out of cheese cloth, so I improvised– I resurrected two outer leaves of leeks and cut fresh thyme (from my garden), bay leaves and peppecorn– and I wrapped it and tied it with twine. Very cool!
In a dutch oven, I melted a little butter and rendered the fat from 3 slices of chopped bacon; then added the leeks and spring garlic:
This really smelled wonderful and I was ready to start adding the liquids:
Now, for my favorite part– I added 1/2 cup of sauvignon blanc (my choice for cooking with white wine)
Is anyone old enough to remember Graham Kerr? He’s that “chef” who loved to cook with wine on his TV show. I was young, but I always wondered how pickled he really was. Anyway…
I added the potato, my cute little bouquet garni (see it in the back ground) and my turkey stock, salt and white pepper.
30 minutes later, on simmer, the soup was ready for the next step:
I removed and tossed the bouquet garni and had my immersion blender, all plugged in:
I love my immersion blender. It’s not an expensive one, and it’s not cordless, but I’d much rather use this tool than to puree in a blender. I think it’s easier and less chances of explosions! (Says me, who loves pressure cooking).
This soup pureed beautifully, and was a perfect thickness. I turned off the heat and added 1/2 cup of creme fraiche. Perfect! The bacon does come through, so omit it if you don’t like bacon.
I raced to my garden and cut some fresh chives and garnished this soup with an extra dollop of creme fraiche. Bam!:
TASTING NOTES: Emeril, I applaud you. I’m not a fan of your Bayou Blast (sorry, I’m just not big on hot sauce and I go easy on cayenne). This is the best potato leek soup I’ve made, so far, even though I left it out.
I’ve already put portions into small bowls for our lunch boxes tomorrow.
It feels great to make something so good, that is economical, and made with frozen homemade stock.
Comforting and Hearty Potato and Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large leeks or 2 small ;about 1 pound
- 2 bay leaves
- 20 black peppercorns
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 strips bacon chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 to 1-1/4 pounds russet potatoes diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper plus more if needed
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons snipped chives
Instructions
- Trim the green portion of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. (Alternatively, tie 2 leek leaves, the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme together in a piece of cheesecloth.)
- Using a sharp knife, halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to rid the leek of any sand. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.
- Remove the bouquet garni and, working in batches, quickly puree the soup in a food processor or blender, letting it run for about 5 seconds. (Alternatively, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) Stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with some of the snipped chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.
Notes
Isn’t the weather just gorgeous out?! I’m so glad you’ve gotten to spend your Sunday cooking and baking. It’s the best way to spend Sunday. This soup looks superb! In fact, I’m tabbing this recipe so that I, too, can have this soup soon!
This looks so creamy…mmm!
Oh this soup sings Spring in every way – just gorgeous!
I like how you used the broth from Thanksgiving! It looks like it certainly came in handy, the soup looks great :).
I love soup all year round, and this looks delicious. Your photos are gorgeous. I would love to exchange links with you. I’ll add you to my blogroll if you’ll add me to yours. Let me know.
This looks terrific. We saw the largest most beautiful leeks at the San Francisco Farmer’s market last weekend. They were about 5 inches in diameter! Mr. B has been asking for leeks ever since so this recipe would work perfectly!
That looks really delicious. I’ve always loved potato soup, and that one sounds divine. I loved your little bouquet garni – very clever! When out of cheesecloth, I’ve used a paper coffee filter before for some things but I’m not sure how it would do getting cooked in a soup. I think your solution was brilliant!
Your soup looks delicious. I love Potato Leek soup but have never made it with bacon before. What a great idea. I’ll have to give that a try.
Your soup looks wonderful!! Thanks foe letting me know about it. I posted it on RecipeBliss.com today!
A potato and leek soup–one of my favorites! It lloks beautiful and delicious. Thanks for sending it along to Souper Sunday–it is in this week’s round up.
Aloha,
Deb
Hi,
I would like to include your recipe in our “Grow Your Own” roundup this month! For information on how to enter, please go to
http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2009/04/hosting-april-2009-grow-your-own.html
Aloha, Nate
Potato Leek soup is great cold on a hot day. Back in the olden days we called it Vichyssoise. I like the addition of bacon, though don’t know if I’d add it for the cold version. Also, the white wine sounds good.
What a delicious soup! I love using leeks in soup, too. Thanks for joining us for Grow Your Own in April! (BTW, your Arabian is beautiful.)