Rainy Days Call For Soup

 The saying goes "April showers bring May flowers".

It's spring, so we all want sunnier weather, but Mother Nature needs to do her thing. On those days when it's raw, cold and drizzly (or downright pouring!), I like to have a comforting bowl of soup. Since this past weekend was pretty dismal in the weather department, I thought I would share with you my "famous" potato leek soup.

Yes..it is famous. Well, in my inner circle it is! Potato leek soup is easy, delicious and healthy. My version doesn't contain dairy and actually very little potato. To get that creamy, thick soup that feels indulgent, I use my secret weapon.

Rutabaga. There. Cat's out of the bag. I use rutabaga in my soup to replace some of the potatoes. Trust me it works!

 Ingredients:

2-3 medium sized leeks prepared ( I will walk you through this!)
2-3 medium russet potatoes peeled (or whatever potatoes you have on hand)
3 carrots peeled
1/2 or whole rutabaga peeled depending on the size
6-8 cups of chicken or veggie broth
2 Tbsp of olive oil for the pot
All to taste
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Salt

Let's start with the leeks, since they are really the star of the show. My friend Jacques, as in Jacques Pepin (okay, I don't know Jacques, but I wish I did!), taught me a really cool trick with leeks. Generally you are suppose to only use the white and very light green portion of the vegetable. Jacques, being the genius that he is, has a way to carve the leek to reduce waste.

Begin making a cut where the light green ends, following along in a circle until you've cut the first leaf off. You should see that the line of light green is higher on the inner leaf. Make another cut like your first. Again, the light green is higher. Continue cutting until you have two smaller leaves left. Then just cut those at it's lightest point.

Set aside your leftover leek tops to use for veggie stock or toss them.

This is what you will be using for the soup. Looks pretty doesn't it?

 Notice how dirty it is? Leeks are notoriously dirty. So here's another Pepin tip to ensure you can really get into the leaves and clean the leeks well.

Make 1 slice down each side (so 4 cuts total) and fan out all the leaves.

 First I soak the leaves in a bowl of cold water. Then I rinse the individual leaves. Really get in there and get all the dirt and sand out.

 Once all clean, finely chop the leeks (discard the stem), add oil to large stock pot at medium heat and throw in your chopped leeks. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so as not to burn.

Peel your other veg (rinse the potatoes after peeled!) and chop. I like to chop them fairly small because they cook faster. Add to the pot and put in your pepper and red pepper flakes if using. Cook for another 5 minutes and then you can add your broth.

 Let everything simmer until all your veggies are really tender, almost mushy. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning as needed. Now, comes my favorite part, blending it all until nice and smooth.

I use an immersion blender. Using a standard blender to puree hot soup can be scary. I've never really tried it, but I've read it can melt parts of the machine, not to mention cause burns. If you don't have access to an immersion blender, I recommend cooling the soup (this does take time) and doing small batches.

 Once your soup is well blended, check your seasoning again. Once you feel it has enough salt/pepper, take it off the heat and serve. I just happened to have made a nice hearth loaf that worked beautifully with it. You could also serve it in a bread bowl (yum!) or with crispy toast pieces on top.

 Now that will make you feel all nice and cozy!

Dinner Made Easy

One of my favorite dinners to create is also one of the easiest, soup or stew. You can pretty much throw everything together in a pot with some herbs and either stock or some other liquid and you've got a meal. It's a great way to use up what's left in your fridge and also requires very little cleanup. Saturday I decided to make corn chowder. It's not exactly diet friendly, but is hearty and comforting.

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 bag frozen corn (I used a gold and white combo)
2 large peeled potatoes or 5-6 smaller ones
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Bacon (optional)

First, I decided to fry off some home cured bacon that my husband had left over. It was a very fatty piece, so I would not require oil when sweating the onions later on. While that was browning, I began chopping my onion.

This might not be the most accurate way to chop an onion, but it's the way I learned. I find it to be the easiest and safest way. It also creates nice little pieces (I don't like big chunks of onion in my food). First, I halve the onion.

Then I peel it and lay it down on the flat side to begin slicing through the sections (or down the lines).

Next, I begin making horizontal cuts about half way through.

Now, keeping my fingers tucked in, I can go ahead and begin dicing.

I remove the bacon and most of the bacon fat (leave about a tbsp or two in the pot).

Add the onions to the pot and saute for a few minutes until soft and golden.

I quarter the potatoes so they take less time to cook.

Add in the potatoes and a few sprigs of thyme.

After the potatoes have sauteed for about 5 mins, then I add in the cream and milk. Simmer for about 20 mins or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add in the corn and salt and pepper (to taste) and simmer for another 7 mins.

Top with bacon if you like and add a side of crusty bread(we had homemade flax bread that toasted nicely). And there you have it! Dinner is served.