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.
