It is the beginning of Autumn here in London and the cold weather will arrive soon enough. For now the warm weather is stubbornly persistent. No one is complaining, but the lack of rain has really made our plants suffer. Happily, the vegetables appearing in the supermarket shelves and in our vegetable boxes manage to straddle the seasons.
In my Riverford Farm box today I had amongst other things a beautiful Romanesco cauliflower (which I shall par-boil then pan fry) and some leeks. As I have to be out of the house for the next two mornings, thoughts turn to preparing lunch ahead of time.
When alone, I would eat leftovers but Mr Gochugaru works from home three days a week. On these days we have a light lunch together (usually soup, salad and some form of pain-du-jour) whilst combining mental forces to take on the NY Times puzzles.
The leeks combined with some potatoes will make a fine soup, with some home-made chicken stock from the fridge. As I don’t have a recipe for this soup on my blog I thought to post one today. Leek and potato soup is essentially what it says on the label: just leeks and potatoes (and stock) in the pot.
To make a more luxurious soup you could add around 150 g of cream (single, double or whipping – just pick the one with the fat content you are comfortable with) towards the end of the cooking time or just before blending the soup. This soup’s texture is not 100% smooth as I used a hand blender, but it is tasty and wholesome.
For the Soup:
(all vegetables are prepared weight)
2 tablespoons olive oil
585 g leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly rinsed and thinly sliced
550 g potatoes, cut into large cubes (I used Maris Piper)
1300 ml (1.3 litres) chicken or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon white miso
1 – 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
Ground white or black pepper, to taste
How to Make:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan – I used a Le Creuset.
Add the leeks and cook over a medium-low heat for around 15 minutes. Stir the leeks every now and then to prevent them from browning too much.
Add the potatoes, stock and salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium. Place the lid onto the pot and simmer everything for around 20 minutes. It is ready when the potatoes are soft.
Add the miso paste, lemon juice and some ground black pepper.
Cool the soup for 10 minutes then transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.
Adjust the taste, but it should be ok as it is.
