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Potato and leek soup is a traditional Irish, wintertime, comfort food. It is a thick soup made of potatoes and leeks simmered with vegetable or chicken stock, and combined with heavy cream to create a comforting meal.

Served with buttered, brown soda bread, it is a delicious warm treat on a cold winter’s day.

Some call it leek and potato soup, while others give the potatoes precedence when naming.

I had to go with the name potato and leek soup, since I think this is one of the very best potato soup recipes there is.

Potatoes are wonderful vegetables for soup. Their starchy content helps to thicken the soup eliminating the need to add extra flour.

Leeks are also a favorite vegetable in Ireland. They add a subtle onion flavor to this soup, making it a satisfying meal on a cold and rainy days. And believe me, there are plenty cold, rainy days in Ireland, even in the summer.

Now you may prefer to make a plain potato soup without any leeks. I have a recipe for that one too. You’ll find my traditional Irish potato soup recipe here.

This recipe is for an Irish soup. Many credit the origins of this soup to France and not Ireland. There they create what is known as ‘vichyssoise’ which is usually served cold.

French leek and potato soup also consists of boiled and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock, but the big difference is in the serving temperature. The French serve their potato and leek soup chilled, unlike in Ireland where it is traditionally served steaming hot.

Cold soup just doesn’t cut it in Ireland, even in the summer. Who wants cold soup on a rainy day, and trust me, there are plenty rainy days during an Irish summer?

And so, let’s take a look at my Irish recipe for leek and potato soup.

This is one from my mother’s treasure trove of traditional Irish recipes.

At the end of this step-by-step photo tutorial you’ll find a printable recipe.

Ingredients for Potato and Leek Soup:

Ingredients 2 large leeks

1 to 1 and 1/4 pounds of potatoes (3 medium)

1/2 large onion

1 oz butter

2 thyme sprigs (fresh)

2 bay leaves

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon white pepper Optional 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped chives (to garnish)

1 to 2 tablespoon bacon bits (to garnish) I included bacon and chives in the ingredient picture above, but these are completely optional and used only for garnish. This soup can be vegetarian when vegetable stock is used.

Directions for Potato and Leek Soup:

Let’s start with a little tutorial on how to clean and chop leeks.

Since these vegetable grow upwards through sandy soil, leek leaves can be full of grit and dirt.

Cleaning the leeks is extremely important if you don’t want gritty soup. We could give a whole new meaning to the southern term ‘grits’ by not washing the leeks well.

Chop the top and the bottoms off the leeks.

Here is a picture of the leeks I used.

Look how much dirt was between the top two layers.

Cut the leeks in half, then chop each half into semicircles about 1/4 inch thick.

Fill a big bowl with water and toss in the leeks. Use your fingers to separate the layers of each leek slice.

Keep parting the layers with your fingers and stirring the pieces in the water. Let the leeks stand in the water for about 5 minutes. The dirt will fall to the bottom of the bowl.

To drain the leeks lift them into a colander with your fingers. Do not pour the leeks and water into the colander since the settled dirt at the bottom of the bowl will just pour right over and redirty the leeks. Run some clean water over the leeks in the colander to get rid of any dirt that might still be lingering.

Once drained, dry the leeks with some paper towels. They should be ready for cooking by now.

Dice the potatoes.

Chop the onion.

Don’t worry about getting the onion too small since the soup will be pureed after cooking.

Now we are ready to cook.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a large soup pot.

I like to use butter rather than oil, since it adds nice flavor and coats the vegetables well for cooking. Butter is more authentically Irish anyway.

Add the chopped leeks and potato to the pot.

Stir well to coat the surface of the vegetables with melted butter.

Turn the heat down to low.

Toss in the onion and mix well together.

Cover the pot and allow the vegetables to cook slowly, by ‘sweating’ for 15 minutes.

Every 3 minutes remove the lid and stir the vegetables to prevent sticking.

When the vegetables are beginning to soften, add the vegetable broth.

You can use all vegetable broth, or use 2 cups of water and 2 cups of broth. Chicken stock can also be used if you are not concerned about keeping the soup totally vegetarian.

Next add a the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

These will be removed at the end of cooking.

Season the soup with white pepper. Black pepper will leave little specks in the soup when it is pureed, so white works much better.

The flavor of white pepper is more traditionally Irish also. Growing up in Ireland, we always kept white pepper in our pepper shaker for the kitchen table, not the typical black pepper of America.

Add salt if desired. I forgot to add salt in my ingredient picture above. I find store bought stocks are quite salty to begin with, so I sometimes skip adding salt.

Turn up the heat to bring the soup to simmering point. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and let it cook for another 20 to 25 minutes. Once cooked, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender.

If you don’t have one of these the soup can be transferred in batches to a blender, then pureed. Return the soup to the pot once it is smooth.

Add the heavy whipping cream and stir into the soup. I use a half cup, but if you really like creamy soup, use up to 1 cup of cream.

Serve warm garnished with chopped chives and bacon bits if desired.

Irish brown bread is a perfect accompaniment to this creamy potato soup with a delicate onion flavor.

Here is the printable recipe:

Potato and Leek Soup A traditional Irish recipe for a creamy potato soup with a mild onion flavor from leeks. 5 from 1 vote Print Pin Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Servings: 8 Calories: 155 kcal Ingredients 2 large leeks

1¼ pounds potatoes 3 medium

½ large onion

1 ounce butter

2 thyme sprigs fresh

2 bay leaves

4 cups vegetable stock

½ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon salt to taste

¼ teaspoon white pepper Instructions Chop the leeks. Wash them in a bowl of water, allowing the grit to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Lift the sliced leeks into a colander to drain. Rinse well and pat dry before using.

Dice the potatoes and onion.

Melt the butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add the leeks, potatoes and onions, stirring to coat them in melted butter. Turn the heat to low. Cover the pot and allow the vegetables to 'sweat' for 15 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes to prevent burning.

Add the vegetable broth, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper.

Turn up the heat and bring to simmering point. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender or in batches using a food processor or blender.

Add the heavy whipping cream and stir into the soup. I use a half cup, but if you really like creamy soup, use up to 1 cup of cream.

Serve hot in soup bowls. Garnish with bacon bits and chives if desired. Nutrition Facts Potato and Leek Soup Amount Per Serving (100 g) Calories 155 Calories from Fat 81 % Daily Value* Fat 9g 14% Saturated Fat 5g 31% Cholesterol 28mg 9% Sodium 583mg 25% Potassium 363mg 10% Carbohydrates 18g 6% Fiber 2g 8% Sugar 3g 3% Protein 2g 4% Vitamin A 940IU 19% Vitamin C 18mg 22% Calcium 33mg 3% Iron 1mg 6% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used. Tried this recipe? Mention @IrishAmericanMomBlog or tag #irishamericanmom

Wishing you all happy soup making days this fall.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Here are some other recipes from Ireland you might enjoy…

For Pinterest fans, here’s a pin friendly image you might like to add to your boards.

And if you would like to check out more of my traditional Irish cooking, here’s a link to my recipe index.

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