The spring has officially started here in Minnesota and before we transition into cooling summer recipes, I thought it would be righteous to enjoy the last bit of winter comfort foods. And when it comes to comfort foods, Soups have to be the king of them all. They are simple, hearty, filling and you can layer them with different flavors and what not!
I am an avid soup lover! Give me a bowl of soup and a piece crusty bread and I am a happy girl. There was a time when I made noodle soup almost every day after coming back from work and my mother was seriously worried for me, really! I usually made my own dinners even while staying at home and in true sense cooking was like a stress buster to me. it still is! I prefer lighter meals in dinner like soups and salads and keep heavy meals for the lunches. I have always been like that and I still am. So on most days I make two separate things for dinner, something lighter for myself and a choice of meal for the husband.
Another reason i love soups more is our cold, cold, super cold Minnesota weather in winter. And part of the “staying warm” in Minnesota involves gobbling down a big bowl of homemade soup. I make an array of soups with different lentils, beans and vegetable combinations but some of my favorites that I make frequently has to be – mixed vegetable soup, black bean soup, baked pumpkin soup, asian-noodle soup and of course the star of today – Thick, hearty and herbs laden – Potato and Leek soup.
Leeks have very mild onion flavour with little bit of sweetness which in my opinion helps them to blend well with potatoes or most soups in general. The second main ingredient is our good ol’ friend potato! Who doesn’t love them? In its all forms and glory- Fried baked, cooked and boiled! Ideally I should be using russet potatoes for this soup but what the heck, I am adding a bunch of other things thats not there in a classic potato-leek soup and this still does taste yummilicious . That is all it counts, right?
Enjoy!
- 4-5 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces (russet preferred)
- 2 medium size leeks or 1 large leek,cleaned and dark green sections removed, chopped
- 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green chilies or 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 5-7 whole black pepper corns
- 1¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1½ teaspoon dry oregano
- 1½ teaspoon basil or few leaves of fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
- water if needed
- handful of cilantro, chopped
- mint springs, for garnish (optional)
- lime wedges, for garnish (optional)
- Grab a pan and boil the potatoes till soft. And mash with a potato mashes or use potato ricer. Set aside.
- Halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to remove any sand. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.
- In a large thick bottomed pan heat olive oil on medium heat. Add bay leaves and whole pepper corns.
- Add the chopped leeks, stir to coat with the oil.
- Add chopped onion, garlic and chilies. De-seed the chilies if you want to go easy on the heat or skip them. Cook until onion turns translucent.
- Add leeks and lower the heat to low, cook for 10 mins until leeks have softened but still has some of its color and are not browning.
- Add cumin powder, oregano, basil, chili flakes and smoked paprika. Use less chili falkes and paprika for less spice. Stir for a minute.
- Add vegetable stock/broth and Increase the heat to high to bring to a simmer.
- Lower the heat to maintain a low simmer, add salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook for 20-30 mins, add water if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Discard the bay leaves at this point.
- Turn off hear and add chopped cilantro, stir well.
- Garnish with more cilantro, a few mint springs and a lime wedge over the top of each bowl of soup.
Clean leeks well before chopping.
To make the soup less spicy, use de-seeded chilies and go easy on chili flakes and paprika. I believe the smoked paprika really gives this soup an earthy flavor.
Sometimes I use this french technique called - "bouquet garni", where you make a bouquet of bay leaves and other herbs you are using. I put the bay leaves, pepper corns and other spices in a small piece of cheese cloth and tie it and drop it in the soup while its simmering. I remove this bouquet just before pureeing my soups. Do try it if you do not like floating herbs and pepper corns in your soup.
And as always with all the recipes - keep tasting in between and adjust seasonings accordingly.
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