Tell me: Is there any better food on a cold rainy day than a
steaming bowl of soup with maybe a little crusty bread to soak up all the last
drips?
I have a soft spot for tomato, I grew up on cream of chicken
and I feel invigorated after a fresh veggie soup. But my favorite will always
be leek and potato. It’s always creamy and seems to fill you up without being
heavy. The way I love to make soup is to put something delicious and crispy in
the centre of the bowl so there is texture and extra flavour. It makes it more
of a meal and more well rounded. In this recipe I used some crispy bacon ends
that also went into flavoring the stock that made the soup. Yay dual purpose!
You could use anything: some asparagus tips sautéed in butter, crispy chicken
fried in garlic or perhaps some sundried tomatoes and croutons. Unbelievable.
If you do decide to go a different way, simply replace the bacon and leek
infusion part of the recipe with simple chicken stock.
One recommendation for a super creamy soup is to push it
through a chinois. If you don’t have one of these classic cone shaped sieves,
use a normal fine holed one and push it through twice. This process will make
the soup have a very fine texture and send it to a whole new level.
Ingredients:
3 leeks, washed, dark greens removed and white and light
green parts chopped
2 small onions, chopped rough
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 large potato (a good baker’s russet, or a couple of the
medium to large gold-type potatoes), chopped rough. I like to leave the skins
on cause I find they are tasty and nutritious.
A couple of Tbsp of Herbs (Rosemary is a tasty choice, I
love chives or parsley)
A glass of white wine
4-5 strips of bacon (If you can, get a handful of smoked
bacon ends. You can get these at good butcher shops and some grocers. They are
basically off cuts from slab bacon and they are darn tasty)
3-4 green onions, minced fine
¼ cup cream, warmed slightly
Method:
- In a saucepan, pour 5 cups or so of water and a pinch of salt. Toss in the leek ends, the bacon (whole) and some salt and pepper. Bring it to a rolling boil and then shut it off and let it infuse.
- In a large saucepan, heat a tbsp or so of oil over medium high heat and add in the chopped leeks, onions and the garlic. Sauté while stirring for a few minutes until soft. Don’t let them color.
- Toss in the chopped potato and raise the heat to high. Stir for a few minutes.
- Add in the chopped herb of choice and the white wine to deglaze.
- Drain the water from the leek-bacon infusion into the soup pot. Bring it to the boil and turn it down so that it has a good simmer and keep it going until the potatoes are fully cooked, about 30 mins.
- Remove the bacon before throwing away the leeks. Chop the bacon roughly, fry it in some olive oil, drain and toss in with the chopped green onion and a pinch of pepper. Set it aside.
- When the potatoes are fully cooked and falling apart, remove the pot from the heat and blend. I use a little immersion blender but if you are using a countertop version, do it in batches. Set up a nice clean pot on the stove and push your newly blended soup through a chinois or sieve. Add in the warm cream and heat the soup to your desired temperature. Smooth goodness.
- In a bowl put a mound of your bacon onion salad. Go for height. Pour the soup around it. Sprinkle some soft herbs around it, like parsley or chives or some watercress. Sprinkle with a little grated hard cheese if you are feeling particularly decadent.
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