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This savory and filling soup was the perfect way to use a lot of end-of-season vegetables from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable share. I followed the loose recipe provided by Spiral Path Farm, adjusting to what we had on hand.

The fact that the potatoes do not need to be peeled makes makes preparation of this soup quick and easy. Chop your vegetables, throw them in the Dutch oven or soup pot and take care of something else while your soup simmers.

I couldn't persuade the youngest children to eat it, but my husband and I and the older kids loved this soup on a cold evening along with some French bread and a salad.

 

Potato Leek Soup

Scrub and cube 5-6 cups potatoes. (Do not peel.)

Slice 2-3 leeks. (Use from the bottom to about halfway up the greens.)

Saute leeks in 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Add potatoes, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 1 tsp. ground black pepper.

Cover with water to just above potatoes.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.

According to your preference, you can either mash the soup or puree it. My husband prefers a smoother soup, so I pureed in a blender then returned the soup to the pot. You could also mash by hand, leaving chunks of potato.

Add 2 c. whole milk or half-and-half cream and 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese.

Heat and serve.

This soup is easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand. For instance, I chopped a bunch of Tuscan kale and added it to the pot along with the leeks and olive oil, allowing it to wilt before adding the potatoes. This will make your soup a lovely shade of green! The farm recipe also suggests adding broccoli, carrots, turnips, frozen corn, or other vegetables according to your taste. Add color, flavor, and nutrition while cleaning out your refrigerator!

This recipe yielded about 3 qts. of soup.

 

"Meatless Friday: Potato Leek Soup" by Carolyn Astfalk (CatholicMom.com)

Copyright 2016 Carolyn Astfalk
Image copyright 2016 Carolyn Astfalk. All rights reserved.