This is by far my go to recipe in the cold winter months. I make it all the time and it is always a hit. What’s amazing about is how easy it is, no peeling potatoes, no milk or cream and very little ingredients (garnishes not included). It’s also really quick to make, I made this last night and it’s CCD day.
I still hate CCD day, hated it as a kid and now as mom, it’s just a pain (sorry God). Pick kid up from school, rush home for a quick snack, rush out to drop them off at church, then home to start to prepare dinner. Then before you can get to immersed in that it’s basically time to pick them up from CCD. So on Tuesday’s it’s usually something quick and simple, grilled cheese or tacos, or a rotisserie chicken from the local market. With the weather being cold and since I had made taco’s the night before (Taco Monday?), I had most of the garnishes for a perfect bowl of hot steaming soup.
I use my 5 qt. cast iron dutch oven for this. You will also need either a blender or immersion blender to puree after cooking. But my 2 cents, get an immersion blender, they are so easy to use, quiet, and clean up is just the blade part, who wants to clean up a blender as well, and if your blender isn’t big enough you have to do in batches, ugh!
Ingredients:
3 to 4 leeks, trimmed and cleaned, white and just barely green stem, sliced into thin coins
1 large onion, diced
3 lbs. russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/8 inch or smaller slices *see note
64 oz. chicken broth
3 -4 sprigs fresh thyme tied with twine
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbs. butter
Salt and Pepper
Garnishes *optional
Shredded cheese
Sour Cream
Chopped Scallions or Chives
Pre-cooked crispy bacon, chopped
*When slicing potatoes, cut a thin sliver off bottom so that it rests flat with your cutting board, makes it much more stable and easier to slice. I also slice while the leeks and onions are cooking. Because I’m impatient and will stand there and constantly stir the onions and not allow them to brown some.
Place dutch oven on burner and put on med high heat, drizzle in olive oil and allow to warm up, then place in butter. When that is incorporated add in sliced leeks and diced onion until softened, salt and pepper to taste and then continue to cook until mixture has browned slightly. This took me about 15-20 minutes
When onion mixture is slightly browned add in sliced potatoes, salt and pepper to taste again, cover with chicken broth, stir a bit, and add in tied thyme sprigs.
See ma, no peeling!
Lower heat to medium and allow to come to a boil. Keep at rolling boil for about 5-10 minutes. (Another 15-20 minutes total.) Turn off heat, remove thyme sprigs and blend. So all said and told cook time was about 30-40 minutes, not bad right?
My kids like it smooth, but I have tried it a bit chunky, by removing some (about half) of the cooked potato before using the immersion blender, roughly chopping and putting back in.
In the above pic you can see my “bacon” in the background, it isn’t. New Jersey peeps, that’s chopped, cooked Taylor Ham!!! I’ve been able to convert my oldest into the wonderful delicacy that is Taylor Ham. Whoop, whoop!!! Thank you Fresh Market for carrying it for this Jersey girl in Pittsburgh.
Serve with garnishes of your choice and enjoy!
And last pic of one of my fav Christmas presents this year from my daughter.
She got me my own sign!!!
Jersey Jules 