Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Yummo! I made potato and leek soup last night — the first time in YEARS. I based my ‘recipe’ on this one from Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/leek-and-potato-soup, modifying it of course 😉

Before I forget — and so I have it for future creations — here’s my adaptation:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced into small cubes
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 mushrooms
• 3 leeks, white part washed, quartered, then sliced
• 3 dried chillis, chopped (optional; you may prefer garlic)
• 5 rashers of bacon, chopped (optional; in future, I’d use a little less — perhaps 2 or 3 rashers; add an extra rasher and cook it separately until crisp for garnish, if required)
• 8 small potatoes, washed then diced into small cubes
• 2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes, crumbled or chopped
• 1.8 litres boiling water (about 3 to 4 pints)
• salt (freshly cracked sea salt, if you have it)
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 small can evaporated milk or cream or sour cream or plain yoghurt or Greek yoghurt (optional)

Method

1. Heat a soup/stock pot (or any large pot) on the stove top, add the olive oil, then the chopped carrot, celery, mushrooms, chilli, leeks, and bacon. Saute for a few minutes, stirring every minute or so to stop anything sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.
2. Put the stock cubes in a heatproof jug and add the boiling water. Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved. Add the stock to the soup pot and stir in.
3. Add the chopped potatoes and stir in.
4. Put the lid on the soup pot, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and let simmer for at least 10 minutes, or until all the veges are soft.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste — a pinch of each to start — and stir through.
6. I usually let the soup cool a little before putting it (in small quantities at a time) into the blender and giving it a good zap to puree it. Once pureed, stir in the cream (or substitute). Reheat prior to serving, if needed.
7. Serve in hot bowls with a dollop of cream (or substitute) and fresh crusty bread. Garnish with crisp bacon and/or a green herb like chives or parsley (optional).
8. Enjoy!

It was a meal all by itself and was absolutely delicious. It doesn’t look particularly appetising in the photo below, but it was FULL of flavour.

You could substitute chicken or ham for bacon, or leave out the meat altogether. Likewise, if you don’t like chilli, cut down the quantity or use garlic (I don’t like garlic, so I used chilli instead)