explanation.

so. this is the one recipe i can never possibly mess up, because i've made it so many times i know it by heart. are you familar with vichyssoise? if not--it's a cold potato soup. i know, i know, sounds gross--but it's actually pretty decadent. i found the recipe in a cookbook of mine a few years ago and made it a few times one summer; it's really great, thick, creamy, a little gritty (in a good way), and with fresh chives on top? be still my heart.

all of that said, the best part was always trying it while it was still hot.

i figured i'd just try keeping it hot one day, and call it potato leek soup instead. and guess what? brilliant.

so, randomly this afternoon i decided i wanted some and that i would post pictures along the way. here's how you make it:

ingredients

leeks (i usually get about 3, but if i'm making a TON of soup, i'll go for 6)
potatoes (duh--1 potato per serving is pretty standard. i used 8 this time around.)
one onion (i have never used more than one. you could try it, though)
chicken stock (or chicken bullion--you need enough to cover the potatoes when they're quartered and in the pot you're using. 6-8 cups, standard.)
about 1c. milk (whole. please.)
about 1 c. cream (the recipe i originally used insists on whipping cream, but really, whatever you have handy)
chervil (apparently unnecessary, but i never leave it out)
salt and pepper to taste

directions

follow the pictures! first, slice up those leeks into little half-inch pieces, and chop up the onion. i like this to be a one-pot dish, so i'll usually put some butter at the bottom of a big soup pot--this time i used olive oil (i'll let you know how that turns out). coat the bottom of the pan, place over medium heat, and load in the leeks and onions. cook till translucent--this is a good time to peel the potatoes and quarter them. once the leeks and onions are done, pile the potatoes in and cover with chicken stock. bring to a boil--be sure to add salt after each step, by the way (not too much, but it really brings out the flavors--and then lower to a simmer for 45 minutes. watch some tv, take a nap...hang out with your cat...whatever.

once the 45 minutes is up (this, by the way, is a good time to put some sourdough bread into the oven, with a little water sprinkled on top), turn off the heat, and either transfer the potatoy, leeky, oniony, chicken stocky mix into a blender, or use a little blender stick (which i was lucky enough to inherit with my apartment), and blend the whole thing.

leaving it here would have you end up with a really thick potato leek soup--you could probably eat it with a fork. if this is where you want to stop, by all means.

but.

if you want to REALLY kick up the awesome, here is where you add in the milk and cream. and the other stuff. which you should add even if you don't want to add the milk and cream.

the best thing is, you can eat what you've made right away--and it's great. then you can put the remaining soup in the fridge and enjoy it for lunch or a snack or whatever later, without even heating it up if you don't want to!

enjoy <3