Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

For my  first seasonal dish of autumn I decided to make a creamy potato and leek soup. To avoid packing on layers of insulation around my midsection, I used just a tiny  bit of actual cream and made up the difference with plain Greek-style yogurt.  The soup was still thick and hearty, and the yogurt lent a very subtle and pleasant pungency to the soup. This is an easy dish that tastes even better the next day.

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

• 2 leeks, tops removed and chopped fine
• 1 yellow onion, chopped fine
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced  into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup cream
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 3-4 cups vegetable broth 
• leaves from about 4-5 springs of thyme
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp butter
  
• salt and pepper, to taste

 In a stockpot, saute the leeks and onions in the olive oil and butter until soft. Add the garlic, 1/2 the thyme, and a pinch of sailt and pepper. Saute a few more minutes.

Add the potatoes and broth. (Add just enough broth to cover the potatoes plus about 1/4 of an inch.) 

Simmer  until the potatoes are tender. 

Taste the broth and season with thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.

Working in batches, do a rough puree of  3/4 of the soup in a food processor. 

Add the puree back to the soup and add the cream and yogurt. Stir well.

Bring back to a simmer and season to taste. 

I served my soup with homemade focaccia bread, the subject of a future post.