Creme of Leek Soup

Here's something I've never quite highlighted on the blog before: I'm not a very good cook. Something about my tastebuds and smellbuds (that should totally be a word!) makes me unable to realize when a recipe is going wrong until it's too late :( I absolutely HAVE to follow a recipe for it work most of the time, and even then sometimes...

BUT, the few recipes I can do, I can do them really well! So don't be alarmed, it just means that the recipes I will share on my blog are quite easy and foolproof :)

One of my current best is this creme of leek soup which I am sharing with you today. It smells SO good, my boyfriend keeps asking me if it's ready yet as it cooks because he wants to gulp it all down right away! And my boyfriend is a picky one.



I got the recipe from one of my mom's cookbook. She's been making it for years and I learned how to make it for myself when I went on a "diet" a few years ago (I say "diet" because I really just starting eating better and exercising).

Recipe - makes 6 servings:
2 leeks (about 12-13 oz)
1 spanish onion (same as leeks)
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
2 tbsp butter
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp chervil
1 tbsp parsley
1 bay leaf
optional: cream

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a large pot
2. Add the onions and leeks and cook for 15 minutes
3. Add the chicken broth, potatoes (peeled), and herbs; let simmer for 40 minutes
4. Blend the soup
5. Add cream before serving (optional)

Notes:
1. I used about 1 full leek (all the white and green- everything) because they were quite big
2. I've been omitting the chervil because I can't seem to find it...

Detailed picture instructions

I started out with frozen leeks. Way back in October, one of my first posts was how to freeze leeks and I promised you I would be sharing the cream of leek soup I make with them. So sorry it took so long. I always forgot to take pictures when I made it :S

 

There's 2 leeks in each bag. The original recipe says to use just the whites, but I find that a waste, so I use the greens too. Meaning I use 1/2 the bag, and therefore 1 full leek. That's around 12-13oz when I weigh it.

I try and use the same amount of onions. This spanish onion wasn't quite as big as I like them, so I supplemented with a cooking onion.



For cutting onions, I've been doing it like Gordon Ramsay ever since my boyfriend found this video (1:33):



I still cry every time... and I don't cut them quite as small, I'm still not very agile with a knife. Anyone else already knew this way of cutting onions? You can use it on garlic, too! Makes it SO much easier to mince garlic.

Now you're ready to start cooking. Melt the butter in your large pot, add the leeks and onions. If your leeks are frozen and not fresh like me, then I put in the leeks first so they get a head start at thawing.



While the onions and leeks are cooking in the pot, peel and cut the potatoes into smaller chunks.



I also like to preboil the water for the chicken broth because the electric water kettle is a lot more efficient. I use powder chicken broth.



Add the broth, the potatoes, and the herbs.




Let simmer for 40 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.



Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before blending! Though sometimes I can't find them... luckily I did this time. (But really, I never taste them when they are blended, is it suppose to be bad to keep them in?)



I like to let my soup cool down before blending so it doesn't hurt my poor blender.



That's it! Reheat and serve. Add a bit of cream if you like, but I don't.





I make this for lunch most of the time, makes 6 servings. It keeps for 5 days I would say. Starts tasting weird at 7, and any longer it's really not edible. I know, I've been there. I was really sad that I wasted some :(

I like eating my soup with cheese and crackers, how do YOU eat your soup?!





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