Potato Leek Soup Recipe

We meet Sean Arnold at the PA Farm Show. He joined us along with Buy Fresh Buy Local, to talk about how to find, choose and appreciate great local foods, and support the farmers and lands, which produce them. Sean Arnold, Owner and Chef for The Left Bank, made a potato leek soup that was wonderful!

As the season changes and you crave a big pot of soup simmering on the stove, this soup is one to try.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound of Leeks – Cleaned, sliced – keep white and green parts separate
• 2 pound of Potatoes, diced – any type of potato; i.e. white, yellow, or red.
• 3-5 Tb Oil – grapeseed, olive blend, or grapeseed
• Kosher or sea salt – to taste
• Black pepper coarsely ground – to taste
• 1-2 quarts of water or stock; chicken or vegetable
• 1 quart of heavy cream; optional (If freezing this soup, wait to add cream till you thaw and re-heat soup.)

Directions

• Separate the leeks into white and green sections, remove the root section from the white part, and then cut the leeks in half length-wise and rinse under cool water to remove all dirt. Take each group of leeks and slice them as thin as possible, keeping each group separate and ready for sautéing.
• Take the potatoes and clean the skin under cool water to remove any dirt. Slice the potatoes length-wise, then into sticks, and finally diced.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan that is appropriate for the quantity of food, 6 – 10 qtr. pan. Once the oil has been heated, add all the white leeks and half of the green leeks, and sweat them for 5 – 7 minutes on medium high heat. Add the potatoes to the leeks and sauté the potatoes until they have been coated with oil, about 3 – 5 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper – start with a tablespoon of each.
• Add enough water or stock until the leek and potato mixture have been covered, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer; medium to medium-low heat.
• Cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be blended, about 30 – 45 minutes.
• Take the saucepan off the heat, and using a stick blender puree the soup until smooth; adding water to thin out the soup if needed. Depending on how thick the soup is, and your preference, you could add heavy cream for a richer taste and texture.
• Place the saucepan back on low heat and add salt and pepper to taste, start with ½ Tb soup of each until the soup is seasoned to your liking.
• Take the remaining green leeks and add them to a hot sauté pan with oil. Sweat the leeks until them have cooked down without browning. Use the green sautéed leeks as garnish.
• Ladle the soup into 6 oz. soup bowls and garnish with green leeks and enjoy.

If you’d like to freeze this soup, we’d suggest that you omit the heavy cream and ladle into our 24 oz widemouth jars or the 16 oz plastic freezer jars. When freezing food in jars, be sure read this first.