Perfect Potato, Leek and Onion Soup With Garlic Cheese Toasts

CHILI SPICE's Note:

Comfort food at it's finest! This creamy, flavor-full soup is perfect to curl up with on a cold day or any time of year.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

SOUP

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large leeks, sliced (white and pale green parts only)
• 1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 7 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

GARLIC CHEESE TOASTS

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups grated swiss cheese
• 8 slices sourdough bread
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives or 1/2 cup green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. SOUP:.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks, potatoes, and onion. Saute until onion is tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Add broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches puree cooled soup in a blender ( or use a hand emulsifier in the pot). Return puree to pot. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold. Cover and keep refrigerated).
3. GARLIC CHEESE TOASTS:.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Stir olive oil and garlic in a small skillet over low heat until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute; remove from heat and cool. Add cheese to garlic in skillet; toss and combine. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Spoon cheese mixture onto bread slices, dividing equally. Bake toasts until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.
6. Bring soup to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle generously with chives. Serve with the garlic cheese toasts.

Reviews

[Plum Island Girl]

Since my family is Welsh by heritage, we eat leek soup on St. David's Day, March 1st, every year as a tradition. I was so happy to find this recipe this year because it uses vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (I no longer eat meat.) I thought the soup would lack something without the traditional chicken stock, but was absolutely delicious! (Some tips: I found it only needed FOUR cups of broth, which made it nice and thick. I also substituted half the olive oil for fresh butter for a richer, creamier taste. Then I added a dash of white pepper, a flavoring many other leek soup recipes call for. For the cheese toasts I used a combo of cheddar and gruyere too, because that's what I had in my fridge at the time. It was excellent.)

The savory soup combined with the crusty sourdough garlic cheese toast is a perfect and very satisfying meal. Best of all, it was really simple and straightforward to make. I'll be making this next year for sure!

[lolablitz]

This was a good warming recipe. I've been trying to find a potato leek soup like they used to make at a bistro I worked at. This wasn't quite it- the texture is grainy instead of creamy. But perhaps they used a different kind of potato and I think there was also a lot of cream.