RECIPES: Leek and Potato Soup

From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients:

3 large or 6 medium leeks, white parts only, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds potatoes (Yellow Finn, Yukon Gold or boiling recommended), scrubbed well, quartered and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

Milk or water to thin the soup, if needed

Procedure:

1. Melt butter in a wide soup pot, then add the leeks and potatoes and cook over low heat, covered for 10 minutes.

2. Add 7 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil.

3. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are soft to the point of falling apart, about 35 minutes.

4. Press a few against the side of the pan to break them up and give the soup body. If needed, thin the soup with milk and heat through. Taste for salt, season for pepper and serve.

Variation: Creamed Leek and Potato Soup Pass the soup through a food mill. Thin with milk or water if needed, then add ¼ to ½ cup cream. Serve hot or chilled with finely chopped chives and parsley or chervil. Chilled, it becomes vichyssoise.

Submitted by Ann Tilley