Ah, It seems like only yesterday I had to call Alayna to ask her what a leek looked like when she told me to pick them up from a store.
"A bloated scallion," she said. She was right. That's like, exactly what leeks look like.
However, many months later when I was a seasoned leek hunter Alayna called, frantic, it was soup night and she had not been able to find leeks at Whole Foods. I was leaving the gym, I was red as a beet but was up for the challenge.
In the east village there is at least one bodega on every street corner. I was walking home fourteen blocks, this means I must have gone into at least fourteen bodegas. That was the night I discovered bodegas don't sell leeks.
Oh well, we did without. But as we enjoyed this soup... which let me tell you, is a winner, we discussed how leeks would have added to it. And then the discussion trickled into our Monday night stream of conscious which often include a mixture of thoughts concerning the kitten, MTV's "Bromance," and the meatiness a leek can provide for a soup.
Ingredients:
Butter 2 leeks, chopped (use yellow onion if you have no leeks, or combine one leek, one onion for more flavor)
Large handful of baby carrots
6 cups chicken broth
dried dill weed
salt
ground black pepper
bay leaf
2 pounds red potatoes, diced
1 pound fresh mushrooms (mix regular and baby portabella, or any other type of mushroom you like!), sliced
1 cup half-and-half 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions:
1.Melt some butter butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover, and until potatoes are tender but firm (about 20 min).
2.Melt more butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.
3.In a small bowl, mix the half-and-half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken.
