pumped up potato leek soup
Potato Leek Soup
Serves at least 4 hungry adults
Butter or olive oil
5 large potatoes (the kind that are good for mashing… russet? Fresh is best)
5 leeks, trimmed
3 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1 quart chicken broth** + a little water to thin
1 sheet kombu
Salt and pepper
Other seasonings of choice!
Dash of heavy cream or dairy alternative, optional
Wash potatoes and give a rough dice. You can peel if you want, but I am pro skin on all vegetables for added nutrition.
Slice leeks into rounds and wash well in a strainer to get all the dirt out. I use more of the green parts than is usually recommended because I hate composting fresh green things!
Chop garlic and carrot. You can leave the carrot out if you’re a purist; I like to add a little color.
Over medium heat, melt butter (about 3 tablespoons) or your cooking fat of choice in a large pot or Dutch oven. I have definitely used bacon fat here once or twice and did not regret it. Add the leeks and start to cook down. Once they have reduced in volume a bit, add garlic and carrot. Season with salt, pepper, and a little dried parsley or celery leaves if you have em. After a few minutes, add in potatoes. I like to make sure the potatoes get seasoned and all mixed up with the leeks and garlic for a few minutes before adding liquid.
Add in your chicken stock and thin with water if necessary. You want everything covered but not by more than an inch or so. Bring to a low boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the kombu to the pot; i just let it hang out on top of the veg where it was submerged but easy to fish out at the end. Cook uncovered until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Once everything is soft enough to be pierced with your mixing spoon, remove the kombu and turn off the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. I probably add more pepper and parsley at this point, plus a lillll nutmeg.
Let cool a little and then blend until creamy, no veg left unblitzed! I use an immersion blender which I highly recommend but you can do it carefully, in batches, in a food processor or blender as well. Return to the pot and drizzle in a bit of cream or alternative if you think it needs an extra boost of creaminess. If you’re using good potatoes and stock, it might not!
Serve immediately! I like to add a scoop of wild greens pesto for some extra flavor and nutrition when serving. This soup tastes better the next day and while it doesn’t freeze super gracefully, it is still edible frozen and reheated, if a little grainy. Reheating on the stove and blitzing it again, maybe adding some more cream, can help a lot post-freeze.
Notes:
this is a great recipe to hide other root veg in, like turnips or celeriac or kohlrabi (which is actually a stem). Prepare as you do the potatoes, but they may require slightly more cooking time or a smaller chop
you can totally make this vegetarian or vegan by using veggie stock, but you will want to add some good fats somewhere in the process to make it truly pumped up. Maybe avo oil to start and some refined coconut at the end?
feel free to skip the kombu— i was inspired to make this as mineral rich a comfort food as I could in anticipation of more dental work
Wild greens pesto!!!
I like to use a blend of chickweed, nettle, and a bitter green like dandelion or bittercress for this recipe. Whatever i have on hand goes in, and I stretch it with kale or spinach (or basil!) if needed. Blanch the nettles before using if they’re fresh! This makes about 8 ounces.
2 cups fresh leaves (packed)
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup unsalted pepitas (optional; you can sub nuts or leave out entirely)
3 garlic cloves (or a small shallot, or sub some of the 2 cups leaves with chives)
½ teaspoon lemon juice (to make it more of sauce or chimichurri, sub at least ½ cup red wine or other vinegar)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional; sub a few tbsp nutritional yeast to make vegan)
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Add the olive oil, pepitas, garlic, lemon juice and salt to food processor. Blend until it is a thick paste, scraping sides of processor with a spatula. Add the leaves. Blend until it’s well incorporated. Mix in parm by hand. Keeps about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Freeze the leftovers!
** Luscious Chicken Stock
Makes a couple of quarts depending on your ratios to start
Chicken carcass & bones; neck & feet if you have em!
Water
Salt
Warming spice and herbs like black peppercorns, sage, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom… whatever feels right
Scraps from onion, garlic, carrot, celery, mushroom, ginger, fresh herb stalks
Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium and then add your chicken carcass. Brown the carcass a bit to add some flavor! Once the carcass is smelling excellent and there’s a bit of browning on the bottom of the pot, add water only to cover the chicken parts. You want to maintain a ratio of 1:1 chicken to water in order to achieve maximum lusciousness. The goal here is jiggly like jello, full of all the nutrients and minerals we can obtain from the generous chicken (how many meals has it fed you so far? Thank it!).
Toss in your dried herbs and spices at this point. I always use 10 black peppercorns, a biiiig pinch of Celtic sea salt, and whole spices to suit my needs at the time. This broth had a cinnamon stick, 3-4 star anise, 5 whole cloves, probably a couple fennel seeds, a few ancient and broken green cardamom pods, rosemary, thyme, sage, and a big chunk of ginger.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a super low boil or slightly active simmer. Cook like this for at least 24 hours! Check and add water regularly to maintain the ratio. If you have a crockpot, this recipe I’m sure would be safer and just as successful there, but stovetop has always worked for me.
After about 30 hours, I add veggie scraps (from a ziploc bag in my freezer where I store them as I make them). For this recipe you want onion and garlic peels and ends, carrot tops, mushroom stalks, ginger peels or ends, and any stalks from fresh herbs like parsley or rosemary. Keep the stock at a simmer and maintain the water level, and let cook for another 4-10 hours.
Take off the heat and let cool for about an hour, then strain. You want it still warm to strain so that the fat hasn’t solidified yet. I strain first through a colander into a big bowl and then through a fine mesh sieve into deli quart containers for freezer storage. Label with the date and let cool in the fridge overnight before moving to freezer. When you defrost and go to use, it should be jigggggly and smell a little warm & spicy. Go forth and nourish yourself!