Yes, I realize it’s a day late.  But I like my #meatlessmonday posts and I LOVE

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Actually, this little dinner is my wife’s specialty.  I merely suggest it and then sit back, kick my feet up, and get served a steaming  bowl of deliciousness about thirty minutes later.  Still, I know what you’re thinking…it’s August.  Why am I talking about soup?

Good question.  See the thing is, for some reason, it was in the 60s and rainy yesterday.  It was so dreary and so much like those cold rain storms that hit Kansas in late September, that a hearty, steamy bowl of something warm sounded comforting.  So out came the potatoes, leeks, and cream.  A few short minutes later, we had soup with fresh homemade bread and a side ceasar salad.  It was bliss.

Making Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I promise this is an easy, easy recipe.  Mrs. WellDone rarely has the patience to cook involved dishes (though she’ll stand over a cake decorating it for hours???)  so you know this is pretty simple.  The important thing when making this dish is to cook the potatoes long enough.  If you don’t, they will be hard and won’t blend to the proper smooth texture. 

To avoid this fate, cook the potatoes until the are fork tender and you are good to go!

You will need:

• 2 leeks, sliced
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 medium sized waxy potatoes, sliced thin
• 2 cups stock (veggie since this is #meatlessmonday)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons white pepper

After you have sliced the leeks into coins about 1/4 inch thick, cover them in cold water and slosh them around to get rid of the sand.  Change the water and slosh at least twice to get rid of all the sand.  Use a salad spinner to get rid of the water if you can.

In a saucepan or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat then add the leeks and garlic.  Saute the leeks and garlic with a pinch of salt until the leeks turn soft (maybe 6 minutes).  Then add the potatoes, cook for about a minute, then add the stock and increase the heat to high. 

Bring the stock to a boil and then turn it down to medium or medium high heat.  This should be enough to keep the stock boiling but not at a full rolling boil.  Cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes, but may be as long as 30.

Add the stock to soup,  bring it back to a boil and add the white pepper.  Then use an immersion blender (a stick blender or a boat motor as Emeril likes to call it) to make the soup a nice, creamy consistency. 

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can kick it old school and use a regular blender.  But if you do, hold the top of the blender with a towel to prevent soup spray from going everywhere.  Friends don’t let friends blend hot soup without a towel.

Anyway, once the soup has been blended, ladel into bowls, serve with bread and salad and enjoy!

Thanks to roland for the pic.