Leekie Soup

Since when is it December?! The last few months have just gone so quickly, I’m at my 100^th post and have almost been cooking a year now – how time flies. Not that I’m complaining, being a Christmas-aholic, the countdown has officially begun, and I cannot wait to hand in my last essay next Thursday and let the celebrations start with our Christmas Party. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping myself sane whilst essay researching and writing with cooking lots of lovely winter warmers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this season’s food is definitely the best, give me casseroles and soups over salads any day.

This leek and potato soup comes from Bill’s Cook Eat Smile, which never fails to amaze me with easy seasonal recipes that are always delicious. If you’ve got a spare couple of hours to chop and stir and check then it really is worth it making home made soup, and quite frankly it’s therapeutic too. I have become increasingly disillusioned with shop bought soups, which promise so much and deliver very little (although if you really are looking for a speedy lunch then the best I’ve found are from Glorious Soups with their tempting alphabet of flavours). Bill’s soup is called Cock-a-Leekie, but is without the chicken, so is really just leekie. The addition of half the chopped vegetables after blending makes this soup feel like more of a hearty meal, and served with crusty bread and butter, it makes the perfect lunch for a cold winters day.

Adapted from Bill’s Cook Eat Smile

Serves 2

½ tbsp olive oil

½ onion, chopped

1 large leek, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

½ tbsp butter

1 large or 2 small sticks of celery, chopped

small bunch of fresh sage, chopped

500ml hot vegetable stock

½ tbsp honey

1. Heat the oil in a large deep pan, and fry the onion until translucent. Add the butter and when that’s melted, add half the potatoes, leeks, celery and sage. Cook gently for 25 minutes over a low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Blitz carefully with a hand held blender (allow to cool slightly if using a food processor) until smooth.
3. Add the remaining vegetables and the honey, and season. Put the lid back on and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle over a little more chopped sage and serve with crusty bread.