To Puree or Not to Puree: Potato Leek Soup

At the onset of fall, amongst the cool and rainy weather you can huddle under an umbrella, like my mother, so you can still barbeque your favourite meats and grill your favourite vegetables, or you can embrace the "soup season". Whether you are someone who finds it easy or one who finds it hard to accept that summer has passed, I have a recipe that will help you ease into the fact that fall is here. So when the clocks "fall" back an hour, and you are walking in from the cold to your home at hours of darkness, you will see that there is no better dinner than cozying up to a quick and easy, but not ordinary, warm bowl of soup.

When I walked into work this weekend, and we did not have many customers' orders to satisfy, I found my boss gathering ingredients together with her own craving to satisfy, potato leek soup.


Potato leek soup is like a soup version of a baked potato with chives (or "the works" baked potato, depending on your garnishing). A leek belongs to the onion and garlic family, and looks like a green onion in appearance, but on a larger scale. And a potato, well, is only the best ingredient for endless possibilities in the kitchen.

Interested in this soup, I peaked over my boss' shoulder to learn her recipe. When I get to the recipe, you will understand why this soup looked absolutely appetizing to me. Why I say lookED is because when I sat down for lunch the most terrible thing had happened. She had pureed the entire soup. "Why did you puree the soup?" I asked, to which she answered, "you're supposed to puree potato leek soup...well, I guess you don't have too". To puree or not to puree? Two roads diverged, and sorry I am not, I can travel both.

The Recipe

Ingredients:
oil
white onions
celery
red skinned potatoes
leeks
sour cream
cheddar cheese & green onions to garnish

In a pot over medium heat, sautee your onions and celery in oil until soft, do not brown.

Cut your potatoes, which I recommend not peeling, into cubes or chunks. Once the onions and celery are soft, add your potatoes, while also adding more oil to coat the potatoes.

Slice the white base and light green part of the stalk of your leeks and add to the pot, feel free to add a taste of white wine or chicken stock at this point, and cook until your leeks are wilted.

Fill your pot with water and bring to a boil, adding water just enough so that your soup is still thick/chunky.

The best of both worlds
Although the pureed soup was not all that appetizing to look at, it still tasted delicious. However, if you choose to leave your soup looking hearty, do not puree, add or top with sour cream, and enjoy. Otherwise, puree, but top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions to give it some texture.

Now put your grills away with no reason to be sad about it,

Haley