You know how I feel about soup, right? It’s always in season and it always tastes best with a batch of muffins served up warm on the side. If you are in agreement with me, please keep reading and come back often. You can even stop in for some muffins sometime! This soup is truly one of my favorites to make, and that’s saying something. With the exception of the fresh dill, I usually have all of the ingredients in-house, and it’s easy enough to grab what you need if you know you want to make it. This is even a soup the meat eaters in my life love.
Do you have any foods that you associate with another time and place in your life? This soup transports me back to Russia and with each spoonful it’s as if my eyes can’t remain open because as they close on the taste, the sights, the smells and the memories of another time in my life flood my mind. Dill. It’s the magic ingredient that will take you to Russia, too, if you let it. The original recipe calls for only one tablespoon of the stuff, but who can only use one tablespoon of dill?! Yeah, I didn’t think so. I can’t either. I throw gobs of it into my pot.
Rustic Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 T
- Yellow Onion - 1 cup, chopped
- Leeks - 3 large, white & pale green parts chopped
- Garlic - 3 cloves, finely chopped
- Salt - 2 tsp
- Potatoes - 3 medium, chopped
- Bay Leaf - 1
- Vegetable Broth - 4 cups
- Rice Milk - 2 cups
- Fresh Dill - to taste, chopped
- Salt & Pepper - to taste
Instructions:
Chop your onion, leeks and garlic and then you'll be ready to throw them all into your pot (with oil on the bottom) at the same time. A word about leeks. I love them. A lot. They're so much fun to cut, too, but be sure you wash them well because those pesky things can trap dirt worse than a two-year-old playing outside barefoot. Trust me on this one. Okey-dokie, we've got clean leeks now, everyone? Good. Cook your mixture just until it's all looking translucent and soft (5-8 minutes). Next add your chopped potatoes (red or Russets work fine), bay leaf, and broth.
Bring the whole mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low and cover. You're just cooking the potatoes at this point, and it may take up to 35 minutes, but keep an eye on it because you don't want to overcook the potatoes; they'll get mushy, and we don't like mushy. As soon as your potatoes are tender, add the rice milk (dairy or soy milk can also be used) and dill and just heat through, but do not bring to a boil. Discard the bay leaf before eating and you may want to salt and pepper for additional seasoning.
Simple. Tasty. Dill-icious. Serve with warm muffins or an artisan bread. What's not to love? Let me know what you think!
Have you tried substituting roasted caulifouer for the potatoes? Yummy and reduces the carbs. Also use a couple of slices of bread as a thickener. Great served chilled or hot.
Rachel Ray has said a bunch of times that leeks need to come apart, meaning to take the rings apart, then to wash them. Reason being of course, the aforementioned dirt getting trapped in there. Apparently leeks grow layer by layer, like rings on a tree, and trap the dirt in there in the growth process. Your soup sounds delicious, Arminda!