Minoo made a staple soup which is Potato Leek Soup. Soup is always great for the cold winter days and what better than a hearty soup with some crusty bread. It is also a great recipe to use up the potatoes which we often buy in bulk in those 10lbs bag.

The leek gave this soup a very refreshing oniony flavour. Make a big batch of the soup and you can freeze your leftover in single portion size in ziplock bags or freezer safe containers and you can have soup any time. Just reheat the soup on the stove on medium heat until it comes back to a simmer. Do not add any cream if you intend to freeze the soup. Add the cream just before serving.

Ingredients

• 7 large potaotoes (leave peels on)
• 3 to 4 leeks
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• a little fresh basil (or dried ones)
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 or 2 bay leaf
• a few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried ones
• light cream (optional)
• 6 to 8 cups of water
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and cut the onion and garlic into chunks. You dont have to fuss on cutting them into very fine pieces as the vegetables will soften in the boiling process.

We accidentally peeled the potatoes as we did not read the instructions carefully. We are supposed to scrub the potatoes and cut them into chunks with the peel on.Wash and slice the celery.

Wash the leeks thoroughly as there are usually sands in them. The best way is to soak the leeks in a big bowl of water and the sand will sink to the bottom.We only use the white part of the leek which is more tender. Slice the white part into small pieces. You may save the green part of the leek for other purpose.

Saute the onion in a large soup pot with the corn oil until soft. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add the rest of the vegetables except the parsley. Add the herbs (basil and bay leaf) and season with pepper.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables by about 1 inch. Simmer for an hour or so, until the vegetables are soft.

Remove half of the vegetables with a slotted spoon and blend the soup with a hand blender. The potatoes will thicken the soup.

Return the vegetables to the pot. You may want to bring the soup back to a boil but not necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving, add a little cream for extra richness and parsley for freshness and fragrance. Minoo, thank you for sharing the recipes.