As a child growing up in Wales, I helped my Mum to grow the welsh national vegetable, leeks. On St Davids Day (1st March) we would go to school with a leek pinned to our jackets!! So its no surprise that I have a bit of a passion for growing and eating leeks. They are easy to grow and provide great food right up to freeze up, then again in the spring. They are in the onion family but are very mild. All I do to prepare the leek is cut off the roots (there’s something great about cutting off roots when we prepare food!!) strip the outer leaves, cut open the whole plant lengthwise, wash very well (soil has a tendency to hide in the layers) and slice up. We eat both the green and white parts. Leek and Potato soup is a particular favourite with everyone in our house at this time of the year. I promised that I’d share my recipe with you, so here goes:
Ingredients
- 3 large or 6 medium leeks, split and sliced
- 4 medium potatoes, diced
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 2 cups milk
- Lots of black pepper
Directions
As with most of my recipes, don’t worry too much about quantities – you cant go wrong with fresh veggies!
- Saute the sliced leeks in olive oil over medium heat until they start to soften.
- Add the diced potatoes and cook for another few minutes.
- Add the stock or water and milk and black pepper.
- Bring to the boil and allow to simmer, covered for at least 30 minutes.
- Put in a food processor to blend the soup and return to the stove to reheat. Add more liquid – either milk or water depending on the consistency that you desire.
Enjoy and I can’t remember the welsh for bon appetit!!