Creamy soup is so appealing to me in this cold weather.  So here’s one of my favorites – Potato Soup.  Potato Soup is a great comfort-food soup that doesn’t take long to make.  It works great to make it ahead and add the cream just before serving.

Difficulty:  Easy (as long as you have a blender or food processor)

5 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon salt

7 cups water

3 cups leeks, thinly sliced

1 cup cream, sour cream, or low fat yogurt

Cut leeks lengthwise first and check for dirt.  Then cut in thin slices across the stalk.  Use only white and pale green parts of the leeks.  Soak in plenty of water to get all the dirt out of the crevices.  When ready to make soup, swish leeks around in the water and lift them out so that the water drains away.  Dirt stays in the bottom of the bowl.

Peel and dice the potatoes early in the day and put in bowl of water to keep them from turning brown.

Simmer potatoes and leeks in 7 cups salted water for 30-45 minutes, until potatoes break apart when speared with a fork and leeks no longer make a crunching sound when cut with the side of a fork.

Put leeks and potatoes into blender or food processor to puree.  I used an immersion blender (leaving the potatoes/leeks in the water), which is fast, easy, and makes for significantly less bowl washing.  Return pureed potato/leek mixture to liquid if you used a blender or food processor.

If you are not serving the soup immediately, refrigerate after it cools a bit.  When ready to serve, reheat and add about 1 cup cream, sour cream, or low fat plain yogurt.  Stir to blend, then serve.

The Story:  Potato Soup is our family’s traditional Christmas Eve dinner, as it is easy to reheat after the Christmas Eve service and perfect for a cold night.  We serve it with grilled cheeses made on homemade bread and then get straight to work on last minute gift wrapping!