Creamy Potato Leek Soup

While it is hardly soup weather here in Atlanta, I wanted to try and make this soup for the No Croutons Required event this month over at the Tinned Tomatoes. Ever since I made a home made bouillon after reading about it here and here, I have been dying to make quick soups using it. Quick is exactly what this soup is - at least in terms of hands-on time.

While the Potato-leek soup idea fit the Allium theme at No Croutons Required very well, there was another inspiration. We first tried this soup at our favourite soup-and-salad buffet and loved it. It was mild and yet full of flavour, and particularly soothing during fall/winter. When I found a recipe for this soup in Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest (one of my favourite cookbooks), I decided that hot weather should not stop me. I modified her recipe slightly to suit my tastes.

Ingredients

2 large potatoes, scrubbed and diced
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
4 C vegetable stock (with home made bouillon)
1/4 t dried thyme
1 C milk
1 t pepper, fresh ground
Salt to taste

Start by boiling the stock in a large soup pot. Add diced potatoes and sliced leeks. I peeled the potatoes, but I imagine with new red potatoes, one can leave the skins on. I discarded most of the dark green portions of the leeks since they were too tough. Boil the vegetables in the stock for about 30-40 min on medium heat, until they are tender. Allow it to cool and then puree. Add the thyme, pepper and the milk and reheat gently, not allowing it to boil. I didn't add salt since the bouillon base had plenty.

This soup was very quick and is completely oil/butter free! It tasted very similar to the one in the restaurant and that pleased me quite a bit.