Description
This delicious healthy recipe for Potato Leek Soup is deceiving flavorful! A nourishing, soul-satisfying meal made with the humblest of ingredients. Serve with optional Leek oil and Crusty Bread.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3–4 large leeks, (4–5 cups sliced)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (or sub butter or ghee)
- 4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry thyme)
- 1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced. Or sub any thin-skinned potatoes- red, fingerling, or use russets, peeled.
- 4 cups veggie broth or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or heavy cream) see notes for vegan.
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives (or scallions) for garnish
Optional – Leek oil for drizzling! (Make this with the green tops of leeks while the soup simmers.)
Instructions
- Slice leeks into ¼-inch thick slices. Rinse under running water to remove dirt and sediment. Drain. ( The water will help soften the leeks as well.)
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, over medium-low heat. Add rinsed leeks and garlic and thyme, sauté until tender, golden and fragrant, 8-10 minutes.
- Add potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
- Make the optional leek oil.
- Blend the soup. When the potatoes are very tender, use an immersion blender and blend the soup until relatively smooth. TIP: Over blending may cause the soup to have a gummy texture. Alternatively, blend in batches in a regular blender (remember, you don’t want to fill up a blender with hot liquid, or you will have a soup explosion- so blend in small batches, less than half full, holding the lid down firmly covered with a kitchen towel. )
- Return the blended soup to the pot, and whisk in the sour cream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Gently warm over low heat.
- To serve, divide among bowls, drizzle with the leek oil, sprinkle with fresh chives or scallions.
Notes
To make this vegan, you can altogether leave out the dairy- it is quite creamy on its own. Or use vegan sour cream or vegan cream. Alternatively, you could add a 1/4-1/2 cup raw cashews to the simmering potatoes and leeks, and let them get soft. Blend the soup. Place back in the pot. Add a couple of drops of vinegar or lemon juice (1/4 teaspoon) and stir in a teaspoon or two of nutritional yeast to taste if you like. Adjust salt and pepper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ⅓ cup ( without leek oil)
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 784.5 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.1 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 11.3 mg
