creamy potato leek soup
It’s the first Monday of 2015. I’m sure many of you have promised yourselves that you’re going to shed some pounds and start working out again — at least that’s what I’ve told myself! I’ve been so good sticking to the same weight for a year, but… you know what happens when you’re on holidays for two weeks. You snack, you sleep, you snack again, you sleep again. My vacations are officially over and am back to work today more excited than ever. Even though I desperately needed this two-week holiday, I’m glad to be back at the office and excited to start my work-life routine again, where I will no longer snack on comfort foods and will eat healthy, balanced meals instead.
I spent the past weekend cooking lots of meals to pack for lunch to take to work this week. One of my favorite lunch meals is a hearty soup accompanied with a nice slice of bread or a salad. Soups are so simple to make, require so little effort and are ridiculously easy to store for the week ahead. You can refrigerate them in Tupperwares for 3 days or freeze them for up to 2 months so that you can pull them out whenever you’re craving something warm.
A simple search on Google for potato leek soup yields 2,450,000 results, with recipes calling for all sorts of cooking methods and ingredients. My recipe for potato leek soup couldn’t be any easier, as it requires only 5 ingredients: olive oil, leeks, potatoes, vegetable broth and chives. It’s entirely dairy-free but still has a creamy texture thanks to the 1 pound of potatoes it calls for. Given that it has no dairy products whatsoever, this soup — as well as all of the previous soups I’ve posted on savormania — are healthy, low-cal and filling meals to have at any time of the day.
Belonging to the same family as onions and garlic, leeks have a mild onion-like flavor. They’re sometimes used raw in salads or fried in fritters instead of onion or garlic, but my favorite way to use them is in soups. The only downside to cooking with leeks is that they require a bit of preparation prior to cooking to make sure that you remove all of the dirt that gets stuck in between their leaves. I find that the easiest way is to remove the outer darker leaves of the leek, slice it in half and let it soak in a bowl full of cold water for 15 minutes until all the dirt drops to the bottom of the bowl. Pat the leek dry with paper towel and slice it into rounds.
I always like to sauté my leeks first in olive oil before adding the vegetable broth and the potatoes to the soup. Sautéing the leeks brings out their flavor and gives them more texture. If you’re looking to save some calories for later in the day, feel free to skip this step and simply simmer the leeks with the potato and vegetable broth instead. Leeks do require a bit more work than your average vegetable — but once you start cooking with them you’ll truly realize their potential!
More soups on savormania: creamy cauliflower soup and roasted tomato soup
One month ago on savormania: most amazing chocolate fudge brownies
Two months ago on savormania: artichoke, tomato, feta and olive pie
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound (500g) leeks, trimmed and chopped*
- 1 pound (500g) potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons chopped chives
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
- Sauté the leeks for 7 to 10 minutes until they soften.
- Add the potatoes and cover with the vegetable broth. Bring to boil, covered, then let simmer for 25 minutes.
- Purée the soup with a handheld mixer until creamy. Add the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.
How did your creamy potato leek soup come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram by tagging #savormania
Love potato soup! Yours look super creamy and thick. Perfect for a day like today!
Hi Kelley, thank you! I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!