Irish Leek and Potato Soup

There are no hard and fast rules to this soup. It's just a traditional Irish recipe. You can mess around with the ingredients such as the amount of leeks and potatoes you'd like to imput. This is found in Nuala Cullen's book Irish Soups and Breads.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 lbs leeks
• 3  medium potatoes
• 3  sticks celery
• 2  large garlic cloves
• 4  tablespoons butter
• 5 1⁄2 cups  chicken stock or 5 1⁄2 cups  light vegetable stock
•  salt and pepper
• 3  scallions, very finely chopped (optional)
• 2  tablespoons  chopped chervil (optional) or 2  tablespoons parsley (optional)
•  potato crouton (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into cubes. Finely chop the garlic, the cleaned leeks and the celery.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and gently cook about 10 minutes or so until the butter is absorbed, but don't allow to brown.
3. Add 3/4 of the stock and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.
4. Puree the soup in two batches in a blender and add the balance of the stock.
5. To serve, mix the croutons, scallions and parsley together and mound a large spoonful on top of each bowl.