Back when I was twenty-one and living in my first post-college apartment over in the East Village, I had 3 lovely roommates. Two of whom were burgeoning foodies. On a cold evening in late March, one roommate brought home a big bunch of leeks and a bag of russet potatoes. She knocked on my door and called me out into the kitchen.
“How do you make potato-leek soup?” she asked.
I thought for a moment, having never once actually MADE potato-leek soup before, and replied, “Well, I think you just saute the white part of the leeks, add the potatoes and some water, and then stir in something creamy.”
“Yeah, hmmmm. That’s what I thought.”
We did just that, didn’t even add garlic but did add salt and freshly ground black pepper. It was incredible…even though there was no garlic and we didn’t know to soak the leeks in some water to remove all of the dirt before cooking them.
What Sabrina and I sensed is that this soup is so perfectly simple. Anybody I talk to and ask for a recipe or read about who discusses this soup says basically the same thing: Don’t muck with it. I’ve added nutmeg which brings out the flavor beautifully, and you could definitely grate a bit of parmesan cheese into the soup if you’re so inclined-or if you don’t like nutmeg. But, please keep it simple.
My daughter and I decided that our soup looked like puffy clouds. I noticed that, once that was mentioned, she ate a little more of her soup than she might have otherwise. (wink wink.)
Cloud Soup
*4-6 leeks, chopped
*2 T. unsalted butter
*2-3 medium cloves of garlic, (to taste) peeled and crushed with the back of a knife
*coarse sea salt, to taste
*5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
*1/2 c. dry white wine
*nutmeg, freshly grated
*3/4 c. heavy cream or whole milk
*white or black pepper, freshly ground
Together: Once the leeks have been chopped, put them in a big bowl of cold water. Your mini-chef
can swirl the leeks around a bit, helping to remove any dirt stuck to them since leeks can be such
dirty little creatures. After the leeks have soaked for a couple of minutes, put them in a colander
and rinse and drain them well. Place a kitchen towel underneath the colander and let the leeks
dry for a few minutes.
Fill another big bowl up with water, and place all the potatoes into it and set the bowl aside till you
are ready to throw them into your soup pot. Measure out the cream and the white wine with your
Yummy.
Big Person: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, and cook for 5
minutes, stirring every now and again. Then, throw in the garlic and continue to cook until the
leeks are soft and translucent.
Stir in the white wine, and let it cook down for a minute or so. Add the potatoes, 5-6 cups of water,
and some salt-enough salt to season the potatoes very well since this is their moment to really absorb
the flavors. Bring everything to a boil, turn the heat down to medium, and simmer, partially covered,
for 35-45 minutes. You’ll know that it’s ready when you can mush the potatoes up with the back of a
spoon.
To make the soup looks like clouds, puree it with an immersion blender or in the food processor or
blender. Once well blended, stir in the cream and some freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper, and
warm the soup over medium-low heat.
