Leek and Potato Soup

I'm back!! And just in time for the new year. 

We had a lovely vacation earlier this week, which is why I haven't been posting at all.  I do have to say that I missed cooking, mostly because I missed eating home-cooked food.  Having three meals out at restaurants in a day is not such a treat as it may seem.  I don't know how people who don't cook can take it. 

The bad news is that we both caught colds on our vacation, so our happy new year meal, and my re-entry to the land of cooking, is a simple and healthy soup.  You can practically feel the vitamins seeping into you with each bite.  And of course, it's delicious. 

This is a very simple version of potato-leek soup; not as fancy as the version I posted about here, but tasty in its own right.  It's I-want-to-be-done-good-to soup.  And it gets the job done.

Leek and Potato Soup

adapted from Jamie Oliver (Jamie's Food Revolution)

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large carrot, chopped

1 large celery stalk, leafy tops included, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

3/4 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, cubed

freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

2.  In a medium Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add leeks, carrot, celery, and garlic.  Cover the pot partially and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender.

3.  Add the broth and potato and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cover partially.  Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Serve the soup chunky, or puree if you like.

Enjoy!