Leek and Potato Soup
Not a Vichyssoise but a good hearty welcoming soup which I have been making since I was at the Aspinall Arms, Great Mitton, Lancashire.
Not a Vichyssoise but a good hearty welcoming soup which I have been making since I was at the Aspinall Arms, Great Mitton, Lancashire.
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 455 grams (1 pound) leeks
- 455 grams (1 pound) potatoes
- 1 yellow onion chopped fine
- 1 liter (4 1/4 cups) vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 240 milliliters (1 cup) milk or single cream
- 30 grams (2 tbsp) butter
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch ground white pepper this is important as the white pepper doesn't leave dark speck
- Carbohydrate 2.02213833333333 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.02356 g
- Fiber 0.342266674995422 g
- Protein 0.259866666666667 g
- Saturated Fat 0.00875466666666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (21g)
- Sodium 776.0375 mg
- Sugar 1.67987165833791 g
- Trans Fat 0.00643616666666667 g
- Calories 9 calories
Step-by-step
- Wash the leeks and slice off the top green parts, you can keep the green parts for something else, take off the tough outer layer, and discard. Finely chop the leeks... the best way to do this is to cut them lengthwise into three sections then gather round the segments and chop them.
- Put the leeks into a colander and rinse them thoroughly. This is particularly crucial if you are using organic or home grown leeks soil or sandy bits often get in the outer layers of.
- Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic I now use a small micro plane grater for garlic it seems to do the job much better than a crusher. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Turn the heat to low then add the leeks, onions, garlic and potatoes to the pan cook on a low heat for 10 minutes turning the ingredients 2 or 3 times while cooking
- Add the stock and milk to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- The soup is now ready to serve as a good warming main meal, the texture thick and with the vegetables a little chunky. If you wish a less rustic soup the cool it for about 5 minutes and then force through a large sieve or better still push it through a mouli.
- You can use a food processor but be careful not to over process as potato tends to go like glue in a blender/processor.
The ingredient list fails to reveal how allium sulfur compounds mellow during a slow sweat. When leeks, onions, and garlic encounter moderate heat in butter, their pungent allyl methyl sulfides break down into sweet-tasting propyl complexes. This process requires patience; maintaining a low flame for 10 minutes prevents the sugars from scorching while building a mellow aromatic foundation.
Starch Management and Texture
Potatoes introduce vital cellular structures containing amylose and amylopectin starches. Boiling starchy potatoes in a mixture of vegetable stock and milk creates a suspension where swollen starch granules thicken the liquid naturally. Pureeing requires caution because high-speed blades shear starch cells open, releasing excess amylose that turns the mixture into an elastic, gluey paste. For a velvety finish, push the cooked vegetables through a conical sieve or a food mill rather than using a motorized blender.Seasoning and Contrast
White pepper provides essential piquancy without introducing dark specks that disrupt the pale ivory aesthetic of the broth. Ground white pepper contains piperine compounds that offer a sharper, more immediate heat than black peppercorns. Adding dairy such as single cream or milk near the end of cooking introduces milk fats that coat the tongue, balancing the earthy sharpness of the alliums and rounding out the overall profile.
