Now that the winter months are upon us I have taken to making a big batch of soup on Sundays to keep me well fed throughout the week.

This pureed Potato and Leek soup has to be one of my all time favourites.

The secret to this honest soup lies in the initial 'sweating' of the leeks and onions - this involves very slow cooking with a little butter in a covered pot to release the vegetable juices.

This recipe will yield 4 large servings.

What you’ll need

A blender or food processor
60g cultured unsalted butter
3 Leeks, white part only
1 white onion
2-3 large Pontiac potatoes, peeled and cut into a 2-3cm dice
1.5L Chicken Stock
salt and freshly ground white pepper
freshly grated numeg
Crusty bread to serve

A quick note about the ingredients

Being such a simple dish, using quality ingredients is an absolute must. It is well worth the extra couple of dollars to buy a good quality liquid chicken stock instead of using powdered bouillon cubes. Campbells Real Stock does the job perfectly.

Also, with the butter Allowrie do a fantastic European style cultured unsalted butter that is only about $2.50 for 250 grams and is available in most Woolworths/Coles and makes such a huge difference to the flavour. If you can’t find the Allowrie there is a Danish style cultured butter from Girgar that is also very good.

How to put it together

 

1.     Trim the leeks just above the root and chop off the green tops. You only want to use the white part. Slice them in half lengthways and wash under cold running water checking between the layers to make sure you get rid of any trapped grit.

2.     Thinly slice the leeks.

3.      Peel the onion, cut in half and slice thinly as well.

4.      Take a large heavy based saucepan with a lid and put it on a VERY LOW heat.

5.     Slowly melt the butter in the pan. When it has all melted add the leeks and onion.

6.     Using a wooden spoon, stir the onion and leeks around to coat in the butter.

7.     Put the lid on the pot and very slowly sweat the leek and onion mixture down. This process should take about 20 minutes and you will need to keep stirring every couple of minutes to make sure they don’t brown.

8.     Pour in the chicken stock and add the potatoes. 

9.     Season with salt and pepper

10.   Bring to the boil and skim the surface of any white foam that may rise

11.   Reduce heat and let the soup simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

12.   Add a dash of freshly grated nutmeg – this really brings out the flavour of the soup.

13.   Remove from heat and allow to cool before pureeing in a blender or food processor.

14.   Serve with crusty sourdough.