JC's Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

OK, I will admit it, I took this straight from Julie/Julia, which took it straight from Frenchie, Foodie, Julia Child's Master the Art of French Cooking, so this is kind of a Kevin Bacon dish, but the end result is amazing. I am embarrassed to have been so influenced by the media version of cooking, but I will give my quick review - Book: annoyingly obvious, Movie: fabulous. However, Julie Powell's description of this dish is spot on (and completely unlike any other part of the book). It's easy, takes awhile, but its so good for something so simple. I never really have the urge to make soup, nor have I ever tried because soup is an "and..." type of dish. Let me explain: Anytime you mention soup as a meal, especially for dinner, the inevitable next question is, soup and...? Its always soup and salad or soup and sandwich, so if you are going to fuss with cooking why bother making something when you are going to have to make something with it?! Exception: tomato soup, which is pure comfort food. But this is going to soon take over tomato's coveted position. Its sweet, filling, and gives a sense of accomplishment (though, I might just feel that way because I accomplished it in stark contrast to all of copyright law). Its also so good because it took me a moment to even remember what a leek was, not to mention I doubt I had ever had one before, but turns out its just a more mild version of celery (which is good because I hate celery). So here it is: The original recipe with a few tweaks (as always).


Ingredients:
3-4 cups of diced peeled potatoes (1 lb.)
3 cups thinly sliced leeks, including the tender greens (cut all the way until the real greeny part and it starts looking like a stalk instead of a meaty vegetable)
2 quarts water
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tblsp. butter
dash of cream (optional)

Directions:
Peel potatoes and chop. Slice leeks. Salt and boil water in 3-4 Qt. saucepan.

Simmer vegetables, salt, and water together, partially covered for 40-50 minutes. Mash the vegetables into the soup with a fork or pass through a food mill. I neither had the patience for the fork or possessed a food mill so, I just mushed them back and forth with a slotted pancake-flipper, but to each his/her own.

Julia does not like the texture of soup pureed in a blender, and I have to agree. It should look like the picture. Adjust salt and pepper. When ready to serve, bring soup back to simmering. Then off the heat, stir in the cream or butter and top with ground pepper. Serve with warmed French Bread. Makes 2 quarts of soup for 6-8 servings.