The Perfect Potato Leek Soup
When planting our garden this year, there was one particular crop that I was super excited to try growing – potatoes! I had never grown them before, and I decided this was going to be the year. Potatoes were super easy to grow, and a really great way to get my kids involved in the garden even more throughout this growing season. In fact, if you’re trying to get your kids in the garden with you more, I highly recommend growing potatoes since it’s so fun to harvest them & they’re not an overly delicate crop!
I’ll mention I like to grow potatoes in a raised beds or in ground beds/rows. I find most potato sacks/grow bags are plastic or lined with plastic and I stay away from plastic when I can for our food. I focus on metal or wood for raised beds. Potatoes are so easy to grow and you can loosen a foot of soil and add some compost and grow in the ground your first year!
Back in March, I set a goal for myself; and that was that I wanted to make a potato leek soup from scratch, made entirely with things grown in my garden — and now here we are! I’ve been testing this recipe over and over again, and I am confident that I finally nailed it since it’s become a major crowd pleaser in our home- even our two year old loves it.
Ingredients
2 tbsps Unsalted Butter
4-5 large Leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (approximately 5 cups)
4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, unpeeled and roughly chopped into ½-inch pieces
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and cut in half
7 cups Vegetable Broth
3 sprigs fresh Thyme
2 teaspoons of Salt
1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
1.5 cups Heavy Cream
Finely chopped fresh Thyme on top with grated parmesan (optional)
Instructions
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it’s completely melted, add the leeks & garlic. Stir regularly until soft, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn.
Add the potatoes, broth, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.
Once potatoes are soft, let cool slightly & purée the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth. Add the cream and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as required. Garnish with fresh thyme & parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
And there you have it – my potato leek soup recipe! With fall just around the corner, I know this is going to be a staple meal in my home, and I hope it will be for you too! If you try this soup out, let me know what you think of it in the comments below. PS- it freezes well!
