Green Leek and Potato Soup (Vegan)

These recipe uses the leek greens and makes a creamy green soup without any dairy. I was down to just a small amount of baby red potatoes when I made this soup. I realized that I had some mashed potato flakes left over from bread making, and used that for some of the potatoes. It came out really well.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 large leeks
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 to 5 steams of fresh thyme
• 1 cup of quartered small red potatoes
• 1 cup of dried mashed potato flakes or 3 peeled, 1 inch diced baking potatoes
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (Any oil with a high smoking point will do.)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 1/2 cups of water

Garnishes Are Optional:

• Vegan yogurt or if vegetarian – yogurt or sour cream
• Fresh or dried dill
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Fresh chives

Tools:

Immersion blender or blender, large pot (4 quart or larger), small pot, colander

Instructions

1. Cut off the green leaves of the leeks and trim the tops of the leaves. If the leaf is yellowing, do not use for the soup. Cut the root off the leeks. Cut the white part of the leeks the long way in half.
2. Fill a clean bowl or sink with water. Put the white part of leeks and the leaves in the colander and put the the colander in the bowl/sink of water. Separate the white part and leaves and clean off any grit. Lift up the colander and let the water drain out.
3. Cut the white part of the leeks and the leaves into slices about a 1/4 inch.
4. Peal and slice the garlic into thin slices.
5. Add the oil to the large pot. Heat the oil on med-high heat until it shimmers. Add the white part of leeks and the leaves. Saute until they are wilted.
6. Add the garlic slices and saute for about 30 seconds.
7. If using baking potatoes, add the cubes now.
8. Add five cups of water, thyme, red pepper flakes (if using) and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to boil, then lower heat to low, and put a lid on the pot. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
9. Once you have the leeks simmering, add one cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the small red potatoes to the small pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Let cook until potatoes are soft when stuck with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
10. Once the leeks have simmered for 30 minutes, turn off the heat.
11. Remove the thyme sprigs with tongs or a fork. If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the leeks. Otherwise, puree in a blender in batches and once complete, add back to the large pot.
12. Turn the heat on low for the big pot.
13. Once the leeks are pureed, if you are using dried mash potato flakes, add them and stir.
14. Add the red potatoes and water from the small pot and stir. If the soup is to thick add some additional water until it is as thin as you would like and heat through. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
15. Add garnishes, if you like.

Notes:

Garnish with any of the garnishes listed. Feel free to mix up the garnishes.