It was a drab and dreary day. (No, this is not the beginning of a Snoopy novel.) Last Friday was the kind of day, when you needed a sweater in the house and some soup to take the chill off your bones. The perfect weather for a creamy, luscious bowl of potato soup.
Under normal circumstances (remember those?), I’d quickly make the short trip to Straubs to pick up what I needed for a recipe. But that’s not the way we operate now. Like everyone else, I try to avoid the grocery stores as much as possible. So nowadays, when I read a recipe, I look at the ingredients carefully to determine if I have everything on hand or a reasonable substitute.
Few and Easy Ingredients
When, Austin, my grandson, came up with the idea of potato leek soup, I knew we had all the ingredients on hand. But, as it turned out, I had one lonely leek, that had been pushed to the rear of the vegetable bin. We used it along with some green onions.
Warm, creamy, and filling. Potato Leek Soup is all of those.
The Difference in Potatoes
Potato Soup with Garlic Scape Pesto on muffin rounds.
Not All Potatoes Are the Same
Potatoes come in different textures and starchiness. There’s the waxy-skinned spuds, that are creamy and low in starch, making them perfect for potato salad and casseroles (think red potatoes).
Then there’s the high starch variety, best for boiling or baking (Idaho, Russets). But if you’re buying just one sack of potatoes, make it the King of the Crop, Yukon Gold, an all-purpose tater, that works well in most recipes.
Leeks Can Be Intimidating
Leeks look like green onions on steroids and are difficult to clean. Before using be sure to trim off the root end and bitter tasting, dark green tops. Then slice the white and light green parts vertically. Wash well under cold water before slicing. Soup’s on!
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