leek and potato soup
classic winter comfort
Welcome to mama eats, a twice-weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, a recipe for leek and potato soup, is free to all readers, barring the video of me cooking it at the end. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mother of three. If you have the means and find value in what I share, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, which also gives you the benefit of access to the growing archive (posts over a month old).
Dear readers,
I’m coming to you this week from my bed, having been hit quite hard with flu. I haven’t been this ill in a few years and it’s been rough. Time slows when you’re ill, the hours stretching like cold molasses, punctuated by a revolving door of tea, thermometer readings, hot water bottles, cough drops. My stomach has been sensitive and I’ve been mostly subsisting on very simple soups, my favorite of which I’m sharing today.
Leek and potato soup, or potage parmentier (so named for Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a french nutritionist who was an obsessive proponent of the potato in the 18th century) "smells good, tastes good, and is simplicity itself to make." ¹ Indeed, it’s very satisfying how easy it is to make and I often find myself making it when I don’t know what to make for lunch- one of those well worn roads of a recipe where your hands just know what to do and your mind stays out of it. It is almost magic- two very humble, inexpensive, utilitarian ingredients coming together to form something that truly is more than the sum of its parts. I can’t tell you how lovely this was to both make and eat after not being able to stomach much of anything for several days.
If you are a paid subscriber, don’t miss the quick little video at the end I recorded of me making the soup, I hope you enjoy it. Even if you are not ill this week, I hope this soup will serve you well.
potato leek soup
notes: This recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking: vol. I. You can use stock instead of water for the soup, but if your vegetables are good quality and flavorful, it really isn’t needed, although I make it both ways depending on my mood. Of course if you are using broth, please reduce the salt to taste. This recipe is more of a ratio than a set recipe; it’s very easy to adjust amounts for how much you’s like to make or how much veg you have on hand. The main thing is to keep the ratio of leeks : potatoes just about equal. You can adjust the water/broth amount for a thinner/thicker soup as you prefer. I like russet potatoes for their texture, but any potato will work and I just use whatever I’ve got on hand (in this post I’ve used Yukon Gold, which is what Alice Waters also uses in hers in The Art of Simple Food). I use lots of the leek green, as it tastes good and I don’t like to waste. Most recipes state to use only the white or the white and very light green. If you prefer a lighter color, stick with that.
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large or 3 small leeks // 500 g
5 small or 2 large potatoes // 500 g
5 cups // 1200 ml water (or mild broth)
salt
chives, chervil, scallions, or dill, to garnish, optional
Slice the leeks down the middle lengthwise and rinse well to remove grit and dirt. Slice them crosswise (including the light and medium green part). Warm the olive oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt; sauté them, stirring often, until softened and sweated down (no browning).
Meanwhile, peel potatoes and slice them. Add potatoes, water, and salt (I used about 1.5 tsp but add to your taste) to the pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then let it simmer quietly for about 45 minutes until vegetables are very tender. Pass through a food mill, or mash with a potato masher, or very gently blend with an immersion or standing blender. Do be careful as the potatoes can easily turn a gluey consistency when blended. Alternatively, you can leave it as is if you prefer a chunky soup, or blend part and mix back through with the unblended part for complete texture control. Taste, adjusting salt if needed, adding a few good grinds of black pepper and a thread of olive oil or little pat of butter to top each bowl. Serve with plenty of well toasted, olive oiled or buttered bread.
One more little delightful thing- Julia Child’s show in which she cooks potage parmentier.
1 Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. I