Potato Leek Soup

A buddy of mine made me this soup when I first got into town on my last vacation. "I know you like potatoes." Hey yeah, I totally do! And I had never made potato soup, let alone eaten much of it, so I was more than blown away by this dish. Paired with a big hunk of French bread, this soup is a go-to meal for cold winter nights at home. 

I used leeks in the soup, as I've only heard them references alongside potatoes and had never prepared them. As you can see, this one-pot dish uses a small amount of simple ingredients most cooks keep around the house in their day-to-day. See the food processor in the background? Picked it up specifically for preparation of this soup.

I have a handheld immersion blender, and will be using it next time I make this dish, as pouring cups of scalding veg into and out of my food processor was as painful as it was messy. But that part comes later. First, bacon.

My scissors were in the dishwasher, so I reluctantly used a knife to chop up a couple slices of bacon, which went into the pot first to render its tasty grease. Once browned, the bacon was removed and reserved for garnish.

The smell was incredible. Cooking bacon works like an olfactory magnet, drawing all beings with noses into the affected area to examine the source of attraction, and if lucky/sneaky, to snag a quick sample as my attention is held elsewhere. Sneaky bastards! That goes on after, goddamnit!

Look at how feathery and lovely the inside of the leek is. Beautiful to slice, with a subtle onion scent.

Toss the leek into the pot with the bacon grease, and let it cook until soft, releasing its oniony aroma into the environment. Totally sold on leeks, by the way, and am excited to incorporate them into upcoming recipes.

Carrots and celery come next.

Mix and cook for a bit, until the veg softens up a bit and gets a bit of a sear to it. "Color is flavor," I remember hearing Gordon Ramsay say on one of his shows. Say, not scream, which is likely why I remember him saying it, the delivery came across as downright uncharacteristic of him. I'm loud, too, so he represents me inadvertently, in his own boisterous way.

Save the bits and skins and ends of all the veg you cut for this soup and save them in your freezer. Once full, toss in a pot with a bit of salt and a bunch of water and simmer a couple hours, then strain into jars or ice cube trays for broth, shown above. Easy to do, saves money and reduces waste.

Seasoned with salt and pepper. I peeled my potatoes, for once! Fish prefers skin, I wanted a smoother base, though, so off they went.

Add stock to cover and boil it down. Smelling ridiculous by now...

And voila! Scoop into a food processor, or hit it with a handheld blender, then add some milk, heavy cream, and cheddar. Top with the bacon, more shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and a hunk of bread. The soup is thick like a dip, almost, and packed with flavor, especially pepper. I will make this again, it reminds me of my au gratin potatoes somehow, sans ham though. I bet this would be good with ham chunks. Holy shit, that's a great idea...