The Shallow End

Simplest Soup Ever!

I can't believe I needed a recipe for this, but doubtful of my own abilities to just whip up a good potato leek soup, I consulted this book by someone named Crescent Dragonwagon (I've no idea if that is her real name, but I have met her and she's a little out of this world, IYKWIM). Anyway, this is souper simple and very good:

Chop up a pound of potatoes (I used small new red potatoes and left the peels on) and 8 leeks (the recipe says to use only the white part...I only had 3 leeks, and I used all of the tender green parts as well).

Throw these in a stock pot with 4 cups of chicken stock and 4 cups of water, and a couple bay leafs if you want, and a couple tablespoons of butter if you want (who doesn't want butter in their soup?). That's it. No sauteeing first or prepping anything else.

Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for an hour until liquid reduces by half. Smash some of the potatoes to give it a thicker consistency and voila! You are finished.

This really is great by itself or it can be a good base for any number of additions...vegetables, meat, and of course, milk or cream. We did try adding a tablespoon of basil pesto to a bowl and that was very tasty as well.

Labels: Food and recipes

posted by Gwynne @ 1:30 PM