I am obsessed with soup. I don’t know how this happened. At some point in the last month, my body decided that soup is the answer to everything: perfectly timed, as it’s starting to get a little chilly. The sweaters come out, the socks come out (goodbye, flip flops – waaaah!) and the soup ladle comes out.
Luckily, we’ve been gifted with a pile of soup-friendly veggies from the CSA this season, including squash, potatoes, kale and onions.
Tossing them all into a big pot with stock and reducing them to a creamy, nutrient-packed mélange of goodness is super simple.
It’s basically these steps: Chop. Put into a pot. Add stock or water. Let it do its thing for an hour while you go do something else. Puree if desired. Serve. Freeze or refrigerate leftovers.
Not dissimilar to this Cream of Mushroom Soup, my new favorite Cream of Potato and Leek Soup is entirely dairy-free and relies on the slow-cooked starches of the potato to make it smooth and creamy. I used a bag of leeks from the summer CSA that I’d chopped and frozen to add that yummy leek-iness to this blend, along with some driee.
We prefer our soups more like really aggressive purees: that is, they're pretty thick and form peaks, kind of like when you whip meringue. :) If you like yours a little soupier, just increase the liquid (water or broth) by 1/2 a cup at a time while you blend. You can adjust a bit at a time to ensure you get your ideal soup experience!
While this cooked, I unpacked and put away a whole bag of laundry, reorganized the pantry and wrote up two sets of client notes. Most productive dinner making ever. What will you do with all of the free time you’ll have while you wait for science to make your veggies into soup?
Whatever it is, know you have a super nourishing meal to refuel with afterwards.
Delish. Enjoy!
- 2 pounds red potatoes
- 8 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 3 large leeks, trimmed, washed well and sliced
- 1/2 tbsp each, dried: parsley, oregano, tarragon, basil
- salt + pepper
- 2 cups beet tops (optional, but delicious)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (leftovers work great)
- 1. Bring your water or broth to a boil in a large soup pot.
- 2. Add potatoes, a few pinches of salt and your spices, then boil for 5 minutes, until slightly tender.
- 3. Add onions, leeks and boil another 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add beet tops, along with another pinch of salt.
- 4. Let this cook, covered, for 35-40 minutes, until potatoes are very soft and the whole thing is super fragrant. Stir in your cooked quinoa and cook 5 minutes more, until quinoa is fully incorporated and heated through.
- 5. Transfer soup in batches to a food processor, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth. Add extra hot water or broth, 1/2 cup at a time, while blending if you'd like a more fluid consistency.
- 6. Season with pepper and salt to taste, then serve.
[…] them with some nutrient-dense dip to justify their white, mostly empty carbohydrates. (See this Cream of Potato Leek Soup for another nutritious take on plain ole’ potatoes. Sometimes we just have to work with what […]