I’m one of those people that is awful at following recipes. Which is probably why I rarely bake, since you have to be so precise with baking. Usually when I decide on what I want to make, I’ll look up 2-3 recipes that are fairly similar but with slight variations in ingredients, cooking time, or spices needed. This potato leek soup recipe is a mashup of the recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything the Basics and Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 large leeks, white and green parts only, cut into large slices
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 #tablespoonofsalt
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• chopped chives, for garnish

Add butter to a large stock pot over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the potatoes and leeks and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Continue stirring until the leeks soften, which will take around 4-6 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. After it boils, lower the heat to medium and stir occasionally for 20-30 minutes.

Let the soup sit for a little bit to cool and carefully transfer–in batches–the soup to a blender. Make sure not to fill the blender all the way to the top. Also, make sure the lid is secured on VERY TIGHTLY so you don’t end up burning yourself. Pulse and blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more chicken stock and blend until it reaches a good consistency. Remember: TIGHT LID!

Add the blended mixture back to the pot at medium-low and stir in the whipping cream for 2-3 minutes. At the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of salt and adjust the seasoning with pepper to your taste. Garnish with chives.

(I went a little overboard adding fun stuff to the pictures to make it seem like I’m a legitimate blogger.)