This soup is mild, and gentle, and there for you all week long in the fridge.
It will hold up under added greens, added crumbles of bacon or sausage or cheese, and the start of the flu season. It is a star.
My friend LP lives in Wales, where leeks are a thing of national significance, and they eat a lot of leek and potato soup. This recipe started with a conversation with LP, as do many of our best food ideas and recipes.
I think the addition of celery may likely be heresy, is how serious they take their leeks in Wales. (Seriously, apparently they used to literally identify themselves to fellow soldiers in battles by wearing leeks. If you’re willing to wear an allium into battle, then… I don’t really know what to say to you. Except respect, and I find this both odd and charming.)
I guess this celery component here probably means that this isn’t really Welsh-style soup, which is what I was originally going for. I struggled with this (I wanted to make the authentic thing), but I really like the crunchy-tender celery texture here, and I think LP will support my strategy. Anyway, I’m keeping it, with apologies to Wales. (and this internal conflict is why I’m posting this recipe months late, in mid-September, not March 1st, when the Welsh holiday of St. David’s day occurs and leek soup is eaten.) (also: the further into my writing career I get, the more obvious my tendency to sail waaaaay past deadlines becomes. but that’s a whole other issue.)
- ½ a medium onion, diced fine
- 2 medium leeks, halved, rinsed under a running tap with water running between layers from white root to green tip (removing sand and grit), and sliced thin
- 4-5 stalks of of celery, sliced
- approximately 10 baby dutch gold potatoes, sliced thin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 cups, or a bit more than a liter of stock or water with a tablespoon of bouillon paste
- Salt and Pepper
- cream or yogurt, to serve
- Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for a minute or two, then add the leeks. Add salt and pepper, cover, and cook until leeks are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally (5-10 minutes).
- Add potatoes, celery, bay leaves, the stock/water & bouillon paste. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes or until potato is soft and yielding but still intact.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Spoon into bowls and serve with a swirl of cream or yogurt.