Potato and leek soup

It always astounds me that I can never find a recipe for something I consider a basic dish in any of my cookbooks. Admittedly, our collection of recipe books is, thus far, pretty small, but I feel the point still stands.

So I made this one up. And it was wildly successful. I know, because my sweetheart, who is not as enamoured of soups as I am hadn't even finished her bowl before she was demanding I make it again.

It's very creamy, with a delicate flavour. And very, very filling.

Notes on the recipe:
I used a masher on my potatoes rather than a blender because 1) according to the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, using a blender on potatoes causes them to assume a glue-like consistency, and 2) using a blender seems like a pointless use of electricity when a masher does just as well.

If you don't have fresh sage leaves, add 1 tsp of dried to the potatoes while they cook.

This method also leaves quite large pieces of leek. I used an antique handheld beater (I like my non-electrical kitchen tools) to whisk the soup at the end to break some of the leek up so it's more evenly distributed. This way you still get some pieces of leek. It would be just as easy to use a hand blender to puree some or all of the soup for a similar effect.




Potato and leek soup

1 L vegetable stock
3 large leeks, sliced into rounds
2–3 cloves garlic
3 large potatoes (about 1kg), cubed
1 tsp French mustard
1 cup fauxmilk (I use oat milk, but you could use soy or a nut milk easily)
black pepper
small amount fresh sage leaves (reserve some for garnish if you fancy)

Combine leeks and garlic in a lidded pot, along with about 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, or until your leeks have lost their raw-onion sharpness.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, combine your potatoes and the stock, and simmer until the potatoes are ready-to-be-mashed done – about ten minutes. Then, add the mustard and mash enthusiastically until smooth. Add the milk, and give it a good stir – you'll probably find it's a bit thin on top and quite thick down the bottom.

Finally, add the pepper and leek mixture to the potatoes. Tear the sage leaves, or mangle them in a mortar and pestle, and add those in. Cook for a further five minutes or so and serve, garnishing as poshness requires.

Serves 6–8