potato leek soup

When I was briefly in culinary school, one of the things we made was potato leek soup. We did everything textbook - we were not allowed to let the leeks brown at all. We had to peel the potatoes. The flavor was delicate and uniquely French.

We recently had a fundraising Souper Bowl party and I decided to make this for the first time in 15 years using all of the sensibilities I've learned about cooking with flavor and reducing ingredient waste and came up with a delectable dish with a little spice.

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Potato Leek Soup

Yield: 8

Author: Elizabeth Van Orden

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 70 MinTotal time: 1 H & 50 M

When I was briefly in culinary school, one of the things we made was potato leek soup. We did everything textbook - we were not allowed to let the leeks brown at all. We had to peel the potatoes. The flavor was delicate and uniquely French. We recently had a fundraising Souper Bowl party and I decided to make this for the first time in 15 years using all of the sensibilities I've learned about cooking with flavor and reducing ingredient waste and came up with a delectable dish with a little spice.

Ingredients

Roasted Garlic

• 1 head garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil

Croutons

• 1 loaf Italian bread from the bakery section at your grocery store
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh-cracked black pepper

Soup

• 4-6 leek - if they're the really big ones you can barely wrap your hand around, 4, if they're smaller, 6
• 4 T unsalted butter
• 3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
• 8 cups chicken stock
• Fresh thyme - about 6 sprigs tied in a bunch with kitchen string
• Fresh chives, very thinly sliced
• 4 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Cayenne to taste

Instructions

Roasted garlic

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Slice the top off of a head of garlic
3. Make a foil packet large enough to hold the head of garlic
4. Drizzle with olive oil
5. Bake about 45 minutes or until garlic is soft and slightly browned
6. Squeeze out the garlicky yumminess of the whole head of garlic

Croutons - makes way more than needed for the recipe

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Cut bread into about 1-2" cubes
3. Lay cubes onto 2 baking sheets
4. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat
5. Bake about 10 minutes until they begin to brown, then toss the croutons
6. Bake another 10 minutes until crunchy and brown

Soup

1. Clean, halve, and thinly slice white and light green sections of the leeks
2. Cut potatoes, skin on, into about 2" cubes
3. Heat butter in large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat
4. Sautee leeks until softened, try not to brown them, for about 8 minutes
5. Add roasted garlic, potatoes, chicken stock, and thyme to pot and cook about 30 minutes until potatoes are very soft
6. Remove thyme and use an emersion blender (or blender) to completely blend the potatoes and leeks until silky smooth
7. Add mascarpone and heavy cream and mix well over low heat
8. Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper
9. Serve with chives and croutons

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