Potato Leek Soup

The other day I made chicken stock and one of the reasons was because I have been craving potato leek soup and chicken stock is a main ingredient. So, now that I have a freezer and fridge filled with it, I am ready to go.

I used an Emeril Lagasse recipe and it turned out pretty well. I guess I was hoping for a slightly creamier version so next time I might add more heavy cream to the mix. But, this recipe does include bacon and we all know that, really, anything that contains bacon is guaranteed to be delicious.

And it's pretty easy to make, if you have the chicken stock handy. You can always buy the canned kind. So, without further ado:

Potato Leek Soup (inspired by the Food Network, Emeril Lagasse recipe)
1 large leek
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 teaspoon of peppercorns (I used a multi-colored version)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 strips of bacon, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup of white wine
5 cups of chicken stock
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper (white if you have it)
3/4 cups of heavy cream (or creme fraiche)

Cut of the green part of the leek and use two of the larger leaves to make a bouquet garni. Simply fold the bay leaves, thyme and peppercorn into the leaves and tie it closed with cooking twine or cheesecloth (which I luckily had on hand thanks to the cheese-making kit my brother and sister-in-law sent me for my birthday a few months ago.) Set aside.

Split the white part of the leek down the middle and rinse well since leeks are notorious for holding sand and dirt in between their leaves. Then slice both pieces thinly.

In a large pot, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the bacon is soft and it's "rendered most of it's fat" as Emeril says. This takes about 5 minutes. Then add the leeks and cook until soft and wilted which also takes about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Now add the chicken stock, the potatoes, the salt and pepper and the bouquet garni you created. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni and, in batches, use a food processor to puree the soup. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the heavy cream. Yummy.

This is best served immediately but is still very good left over if stored overnight in the refrigerator.

I served this as an appetizer last night followed by my chicken cordon bleu which I made a little bit more traditionally last night with ham and swiss cheese. Things are starting to pick up again for work, so I wanted to have at least one fancy-ish meal before we get back to it. We topped things off with a couple of pieces of Halloween candy.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture again : (