Potato Leek Soup

Since I originally posted this I linked up to the Soupapalooza!!! Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid,Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset
 

Okay, Blogger is officially making me batty.  I know this is not just because I'm completely drugged up on cold meds. Yes, Mr. Schwartz and I have some terrible colds going on.  Lucky for us, I made this soup on Sunday, just before all hell broke loose on the cold front.  Lots of nyquil, the good cold meds from behind the counter, cough drops, fruit smoothies and orange juice going on at our house.  

That aside, this is a fantastic soup, creamy yet not too rich.  If you haven't used leeks before they are wonderful.  Scary looking, maybe a little.  But, lop off the tops and ends, wash in a sink of cold water and you are good to go.  Cool that Blogger is making me have a picture of them first things first on this post....and when I press "center" it justifies things on the right hand side... Oh well, hopefully everything from here will go on as planned.  I'm going to enjoy this soup for dinner again tonight while Mr. Schwartz plays football, he will not be convinced otherwise, he will be playing tonight.  Don't tell I didn't tell him when he doesn't kick this cold for a week since they play outside and all.  I'm just sayin'.  

Happy Wednesday, and take a vitamin, you don't want to catch this.

Musical Selection: Folding Chair by Ragine Spektor.  It came up on my Pandora today and now I am in love with it.   But, Playlist doesn't seem to be working either so, just google it. Geesh.  #frustrated.

Okay, like I said, lop of the tops and ends of the leaks.  Slice them thinly and dump into a sinkful of cold water.  You want to wash them up really good in there as they grow from the ground they catch dirt between their layers.  I give them a good twirl in the sink then let them sit. 

In the meantime, add some onions to a pot with butter.  I know, leeks taste like onions, why am I adding more real onions?  Because I want to, we like onions in our house. 

Add the leeks to the onions once they are clean...also season with salt and pepper.

Add garlic as well.

And rosemary.  Oh I love rosemary....I always crush it in the palm of my hands a bit so the pieces arn't so big.  Rosemary goes extremely well with potatoes. 

Let these cook for about 5 minutes.  I stirred every few minutes to make sure they didn't burn on the bottom. 

While the leeks, onion and garlic cooked, I sliced up some potatoes in my mandolin.  This thing is awesome!!! Yes, this potato doesn't look to hot but, Mr. Schwartz said it was fine so we used it anyway. 

After I thinly sliced the potatoes I cut them into 4ths. 

Pop them into the pot along with some chicken stock. 

Let that bubble away for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender not soggy.  I don't like mush soup. 

Next, transfer 1/2 of the soup at this point to a different bowl. 

Blend with an immersion blender.  Do you have one of these!?  OMG fantastic...I received this as a shower gift and I'm obsessed with it.  I totally feel like a professional using it.  It is basically a little blender at the end but has a gaurd so you won't destroy your pot.  If you don't have an immersion blender, just pour one half of the soup into a regular blender and blend until smooth. 

Return the other half to the pot.  Yes, horrifying picture.  Sorry, cold was setting in.

Pour in a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 and heat through.  The origional recipe does call for heavy cream but this was just fine with fat free 1/2 and 1/2. 

Top with crumbled bacon and serve with garlic toast...preferably not burnt but burnt will do.

Scrumptius. 

Potato Leek Soup: 

2 tablespoons butter or margarine 

2 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon rosemary

2 tablespoons garlic

4 medium yukon gold potatoes, washed, sliced and quartered

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled 

garlic toast, for serving (optional)

Start by melting the butter or margarine in a large pot. Add onions and leeks.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic for the last minute or two.  Add potatoes and chicken stock.  Bring to a bubble, cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Take out half of the soup and blend with immersion blender or in a regular blender.  Return all of the soup to the pot.  Add the 1/2 and 1/2 and heat through.  

To serve top with crumbled bacon and warm garlic toast. 

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz