Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

This soup is exceptionally simple, quick, warm, and comforting.  I could eat just this for dinner with some nice, crusty bread, but my husband needs meat with his potatoes, so I'll usually serve it with hamburgers, chicken nuggets, or sandwiches.  The original recipe called for ham, and it does taste good with ham, but really only if it's real Honeybaked ham. If you're not going to put in ham, the bacon bits add a nice saltiness and a little more texture.

If you've never worked with leeks before, you need to know that they come with some dirt at the tops of the white parts.  I clean them by chopping off the dark green part (which I discard) and then I chop off the root end.  I cut each leek once lengthwise and rinse thoroughly in cold water, fanning out the tops to get all the dirt out.  Once they're clean, I pat them dry with paper towels and slice.

Oh, and be sure to use russet potatoes.  I tried golden potatoes once, and it just didn't work for this soup.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients
:

• 2 Tbsp butter

• 4 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

• 1/4 cup cream or half and half
• Salt to taste

• bacon bits for garnish, if desired (I use the real bacon bits in a jar)

Instructions
:

1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth, potatoes and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

2 Reduce heat; cover and simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Using a immersion blender, blend until smooth.  (You can also work in batches in a regular blender, but the hand blender is so much easier.)

3 Stir in cream or half and half. Season to taste with salt. Garnish with bacon bits, if desired.

Serves 6.

Adapted from a recipe offered by Jones Dairy Farm.