The Virtuous Soup

Although we were a bit cool here in NYC for a little while, the mercury was rising for a little bit and it's still not what you'd call soup weather! However, in my haste to get back into soup making, I had bought a couple of leeks over a week ago. The weather was just not cold enough to make soup but the leek was soon to go over into the 'other' world. To salvage it, I decided to make soup anyway, and a virtous one at that!

116. Leek and Potato Soup - *Soup*

Leek and potatoes seem to be a usual combination. Unsurprisingly, this combo was unknown to me but I don't have a problem with either so I figured this soup would be Ilana-friendly. I am still feeling a bit bruised after my gorgonzola debacle.

This soup is of the 'bulked up' variety that really is a meal in itself. That was good news for me since I was on my own and watching the final of the U.S. Open. I needed to keep my eye on every grunt and ace, so it was also great that this soup was not too labor-intensive.

First, I peeled and sliced a leek. I did the same with a garlic clove...

... and added them to a pan with a bit of 2% milk. When the leek and garlic became soft...

... I added salt, water, and a chopped potato. I let this simmer until the potato was very tender, and then I added a bit more milk and water and some rosemary (I didn't have tarragon, but that's OK because I don't like its licorice-ey taste). The soup was then done. I had it with some focaccia I made the other night that I had frozen for just this type of occasion.


I at first wasn't too sure how I would feel about a milky soup, but it was actually really nice and creamy and full of flavor. However, even though I successfully halved the recipe, I discovered that the soup was a bit too salty for my taste. I was thinking of how to improve the soup next time around with just about half the amount of salt, and then I realized I had actually forgotten to halve the amount of salt in the first place! Durr! So Tom's measurement of one teaspoon for 4-6 servings is spot on! I am sorry I doubted you, Master Tom!

I could really imagine eating this soup on cold winter nights. It is quick, easy, and most importantly, scrummy!

Rafa is due back from work in a little bit, and I have his portion on the hob. Since a lot of liquid is lost, I added more milk and water to his serving. Hopefully the salt component has gone down a bit! :)

Update: Rafa loved this soup! He was quite enthusiastic about it and actually asked if there was more! Capital! Well I guess I'll be making this soon. Next time I will watch the salt anyway and add more milk and water to give more soup. YUM!