Happy Boxing Day! Also known in this house as “clean out the fridge and start making food that is not candy” day. One of the best and easiest ways to do this is by making soup.

Everyone has a favourite soup; this one is mine. I only started making this recipe for the first time early in 2019, after many years of wanting to try making it. For whatever reason, I had a totally unnecessary fear of messing this recipe up because a) I wasn’t that conversant with how to process leeks, and b) leeks can be pricey out of season and I never felt like it was a risk I was willing to take for a soup only I would eat (hubby is picky and not a fan… which is fine because that means more soup for me!)

Happily, I finally took my courage in hand in those early days of 2019 and made my first batch at a friend’s place as my contribution to dinner one evening. It was a super-hit, and gobbled up by everyone over the next day or two (I had made a LOT). I’ve made this soup a few times since, most often for people visiting me so I have someone to share it with, and I often send them home with containers full of leftovers. I’ve even managed to quiet down those thrifty Scottish ancestors by halving the number of leeks and adding a white onion to pinch-hit. However, if leeks are abundant and inexpensive for your area, I say go for it and add 2 more to replace the onion! I’ve made this soup both methods now, and I don’t notice enough of a difference for it to matter.

This soup goes extremely well with the Mile-High Cheddar and Spring Onion Biscuits I wrote about in an earlier post. Trust me…they are so worth it.

Leek and Potato Soup

Yield: 6 servings| Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 20 mins

• 3 tbsp/43g/1.5oz butter or vegetable oil
• 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, slit vertically, washed very well, stemmed and sliced thinly (about 3 cups)
• 1 large white onion, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½” pieces
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp/9g/0.32oz salt
• ¼ tsp/0.6g/0.02oz ground white pepper
• 7-8 cups/1.7-1.9L/56-64fl.oz low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup/240mL/8fl.oz milk of choice (table cream is best but 2% will work), or favourite unsweetened dairy-free milk
• A pinch or two of chives or green onions, minced, for serving (optional)

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the leeks, onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper to pot; stir and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Add enough broth to just cover the top of the vegetables and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
3. Remove pot from heat, remove thyme sprigs, and purée soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. You can instead use a standard blender to purée in batches; caution, it will be very hot – do not fill blender more than halfway and remove central knob in lid for venting . Return puréed soup back to pot.
4. Add the cream or non-dairy of choice and bring soup back to no more than a simmer; don’t boil or you may split the cream. Taste and adjust seasoning at this point. Serve hot with crackers, rolls or Baking Powder biscuits.