Potato Leek Soup

A bowl of potato leek soup, topped with fried shallots. Photo by PattyCooks.

Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[x] Vegan: use veggie broth
[x] Vegetarian: use veggie broth
[x] Pescatarian: use veggie broth
[x] Gluten free
[x] Weight Maint
[O] Keto Diet
[x] Mediterranean 
[O] Lectin Avoidance: potato
[x] Oxalate Avoidance
[x] Purine Avoidance

Potato Leek Soup

A warm, Fall and Winter soup.

Soup Ingredients

  • 2 King Leek (1-2 depending on size, while + green parts, sliced)
  • 2 T Butter
  • 1.5 # Potatoes (Russet or yellow)
  • 8 C Chicken broth (Homemade is best)
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 Sprig Thyme
  • 1 Sprig Oregano
  • 1 Sprig Sage
  • 2 t Salt and Pepper (Add to taste)

End Bits + Toppings

  • 1 Leek (Very thinly sliced)
  • 4 Potatoes (Small cubed)
  • 1/3 C Fried Shallots (Final topping)

Mise en Place

  1. Wash leeks before slicing (we will be using all parts of the leeks), and after slicing since they have dirt everywhere. Wash the potatoes well as we will not remove the skins.



  2. Pull out one twig thyme, oregano, sage and one bay leaf. (In my case I pulled the herbs from the garden and used a dried bay leaf.)



  3. Prepare 1/C fried shallots for a crispy topping, so prep and set aside.



  4. Set aside 1 whte + yellow part of a leek, and 4 yellow potatoes to prepare and put into the soup AFTER cooking.

  5. Slice the remaining leeks into no more than 1/3” and cube all the remaining potatoes

Make Soup

  1. Place butter into lidded soup pot, once melted add the sliced leeks and let it simmer on low while it softens for ~10 minutes. Occasionally stir the food so that the butter and heat gets all around. The butter will condense on the lid and fall back into the pot to keep the food moist.

  2. Then add the potatoes, mix it all up, put the lid back on and continue to simmer on low for another ~10 minutes. Add salt and pepper and this should leech additional liquids from the veggies and into the pot, which will keep the food moist while it cooks.



  3. Add the herbs, lid and let the food simmer on low for ~10 inutes.

  4. Then add the broth, mix well and continue to simmer on low for ~20 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing settles on the bottom and burns.



  5. At this point, all the veggies should be soft and it is time to use the immersion blender



Finishing the Soup

  1. Add in the reserved thinly sliced leeks and cubed potatoes so the soup has some chunks in it. Remove the stems from the herbs and the bay leaf. Mix and continue cooking for another ~8 minutes or until the added in veggies are soft.



  2. Then serve in a bowl and top with some of the fried shallots.



My spouse does not like brothy soups, that is why I add in a bit more veggies just before it is ready to serve. It add a bit of chew to the soup. 

Different than other recipes I found, I use more chicken broth and use the whole leek, from the white to the dark green part. There is absolutely no reason to cut away the dark green parts, they add flavor and a green tint to the soup that is lovely.

If you have a good, homemade broth there is no reason to add a lot of salt for it will come with its own flavor. I did add a bit more pepper and just a pinch of red pepper flakes, but that is me and my taste.

I have a container with dried, fried shallots in my cupboard so did not have to cook any. I always have a batch precooked for Fall and Winter foods for it is a generally good topping for soups.