lately, i have been a busy little bee cooking up a bunch of new projects. currently, i am working on a revamp of newfoodtuesdayz. in the works are more user friendly recipes, beautiful, easy to use recipe archives and new features like online ordering for my cake business.
so i have been going through old posts, looking for direction and inspiration. i went all the way back to the beginning. and one of the first posts was an all time favorite. potato leek soup. i believe the recipe i used was from one of my idols, martha. the recipe gave my my first real cooking tip. since leeks can be dirty and gritty, slice them and soak them in some water. all the dirt will wash off, drain the leeks and pat them dry and they are ready for use.
not only did i learn my first pro tip, for the first time, someone cooked a recipe from newfoodtuesdayz. now, it wasn't really MY recipe, but it didn't matter then.
but that's not even the best part. the friend who cooked the soup? my dear friend lindsey who is working with me on the other BIG project i am working on. a CAKE calendar. yes. you read that correctly. i will let you process for a moment...
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yes. a calendar all about cake. here is a taste from our first shoot.
while you contemplate what cakez i could possibly come up with, here is MY version of potato + leek soup. sorry martha, mine is my better.
potato + leek soup
serves: 4
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor.
start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute.
pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits.
add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready.
remove from the heat and blend until smooth.
serve hot with croutons.
xo,a
potato + leek soup serves: 4 prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor. start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute. pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits. add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready. remove from the heat and blend until smooth. serve hot with croutons.