Friday, March 12, 2010

Take a Leek...

Leek and Potato Soup never had it so good.
Well, I never had it so good.
I got the idea from a blogger somewhere, maybe on Tastespotting (and I TRIED to refind it; sorry) to roast the vegetables before you blend them with the vegetable stock and cream.
This is not your mother's vichyssoise. It is muscular, almost meaty, and staunchly American. Think of Hemingway. If he would eat a creamed vegetable soup.
The roasting of the vegetables brought out a magic flavor. We tossed in one tubule of green garlic with the leeks and potatoes (all chopped, salted and peppered, tossed with oil, and spread on a baking pan). Green garlic separates into sheets when it's cut, and the sheets cook faster than potatoes and leeks. Fine! As long as you stop at crispy brown and don't accelerate into "stuck-to-the-pan black." About 375ºF for 20-30 minutes; monitor it. When the vegetables are finished, toss on some greens. The original recipe used arugula; I used pepper cress. Just a tiny handful. Cook for a minute, but pull before the leaves dry out.
The lovely vegetables go into the blender with some homemade vegetable stock in a proportion which pleases the cook, knowing that she will be adding sybaritic glugs of cream in a minute. Blend, hard! Faster, pussycat!
Pour the soup into a pot and gently heat, tasting for seasoning. I added a little salt.
I might have put the resulting puree through the tamis, but the flavors are so rugged I thought it would be silly to screen out the texture. Manly, natural lumps!
Of course, the color is tawny. All those burned corners from the oven. In this soup, the green garlic kind of overpowered the leeks (six small leeks to one short length of green garlic), and the green garlic had collected the most burny flavor and color.
Flavor: I kept getting bacon. I think roasted green garlic = vegetable bacon.
Cranky got chanterelle. Nice! We saved a bundle there.

16 comments:

Zoomie said...

Wow, what a great idea to roast the veggies first! Makes an extra step but we retired folks have the time to concoct a truly wonderful soup. Must, must try. Thanks!

El said...

I am hopping on a plane.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

We often roast 'snips or pumpkin before souping them, and then there's left-over-roasted-vegetable soup, the day after a big roast dinner. Good, gutsy soups, mmmmm

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Also, "take a leek" teeheeeeee :)

Zoomie said...

I do hope it was the last day of rain, but I'll bet there's a storm or two yet to go.

Zoomie said...

Plus, that's one of the best photos ever of a cream soup. Clever and, best of all, appetizing!

Greg said...

You are so cool! I felt like I was reading a bodice-ripper as I read your description. Puff Puff it was good.

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: It only takes a few minutes in the oven, and the benefits are so worth it. Do try. So different from anemic vichyssoise, not that I have a problem with it.
Also, thanks for the photo compliment. Shoot the spoon, let the soup remain in soft focus. Mantra.
Finally, I'm not the betting type, but if I were I'd take you up on the storms to come vs. spring is here.
The lilac is starting to bloom.

El: I'll meet you at the gate.
Actually, now you know another great way to treat your harvest. This method was truly, deeply tasty.

Mouse: I totally get that. Brilliant leftovers. But to do it to a traditionally white soup -- it was great!

Greg: I'm afraid there's been a bit of the innuendo creeping into my writing. Gonna have to take it up with the shrink. :-)

Chilebrown said...

I am impressed! We have some leeks in our garden. May I use your recipe? i may use the grill. I love the word tubule.

cookiecrumb said...

Chilebrown: Please give it a try! It ain't really my own recipe anyway. The burning is the bestest secret part. I love that you might do it on the grill. The Ego Grill. Smoke.
Tubule.

Hungry Dog said...

Looks divine. May I compliment you o working "sybaritic" into a blog post. nice job.

cookiecrumb said...

Hungry Dog: I am flattered! Actually, I had to look it up to be sure I was using the right word.
xo

peter said...

Hemingway would have eaten it if you'd used vodka.

cookiecrumb said...

Peter: Oh, there was vodka. And a loaded gun.

Barbara said...

I'm a big soup fan. This looks wonderful. I make a roast tomato soup which is delicious. I must try this one.

cookiecrumb said...

Barbara: Heat is a whole new ingredient to me. To use heat to add texture, color and flavor before you move on with the recipe = good food.