A Soup for the Season

This weekend I wandered around the Farmers Market with no plan in mind. Besides my weekly egg purchase, it was an “anything goes” kind of day. And then I saw the leeks. Now that I’ve gotten passed my leek fear, I actually really like them. They are pretty easy to use and taste lovely. Thus potato leek soup instantly came to mind. I was excited.

After unsuccesfully checking the J of C (no recipe for this soup!), I googled and decided upon this one by Alton Brown. I’d seen in him on the Food Network but had never used any of recipes before. I was intrigued.

This soup was really easy and fun to make. Chop up the leeks, saute them in butter, add some potatoes and stock, and you’re almost done!

I even got to use my new immersion blender! After reading about my need, H purchased one as a surprise. Smart thinking, as we both wound-up loving this soup. I have to say, an immersion blender should go on your “must have” list if you like to cook. It was so much easier to toss it into the pot, rather than transfer all of the ingredients into the regular blender. Plus it turned the potatoes and leeks below into a nice, thick and smooth soup. H did some research and learned that it’s better to buy one with a cord, rather than one that operates by battery. The cordless ones tend to lose their charge, and you might need to stand there for a few minutes. Ours is KitchenAid and I’m obviously very happy with it. (No, they did not pay me to endorse their product.)

I was feeling rather confident and decided to blend the soup a little more after adding the buttermilk and heavy cream. After about one minute I stopped myself – a few more moments and I would’ve had whipped cream soup. Oops. So instead I brought the soup back to the stove and warmed it back up. Phew!

The recipe called for chives but I skipped that idea. This soup is good sans chives and on a cold, rainy evening (like tonight in NYC). Enjoy!