Soup of the Season

I try to eat and cook with produce that's in season as much as possible.  It's actually not as hard to do in the winter as some may think!

Here's a recipe that uses ingredients that are all in season in winter (yes, it's another soup recipe.  Who doesn't love soup in the winter!?!?!):

Mum's Potato-Leek Soup
Makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 oz butter
• 1 lb leeks (usually one bunch of 2-3 leeks = a pound)
• 1 small onion (peeled and sliced)
• 2 medium-sized potatoes (Yukon golds do the trick)
• 1.75 pints low-sodium vegetable broth (you can substitute chicken stock if you're not a vegetarian)
• *chopped chives (as a garnish)
• salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

*it's pretty easy to grow your own chives, even in the winter!  If you're interested, try growing chives in a windowsill herb garden.

First, slice leeks and clean them well.  This is important!  Make sure you slice the leeks all the way through down the middle and give them a good scrubbing!  I learned the hard way that leeks are experts at hiding dirt in all those layers.  Next, peel and dice your potatoes (you should have already peeled and sliced your onion. See the ingredients).

Heat butter in a large saucepan and fry the veggies for about 5 minutes until soft.  Add stock and seasoning, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 30 minutes (until the potatoes are soft).  Puree the soup in a blender and then return it to your saucepan.  Re-heat, taste and adjust the seasonings.  Serve garnished with chopped chives.

Here's a helpful video I found on the food network about shopping for groceries at the green market in winter:

Winter Produce with Alex on the Food Network

Then I used this recipe calculator to get the nutrition facts:

Enjoy!

~Shreena

P.S. for those of you with specific dietary needs, the recipe is gluten-free and if you substitute the butter, it's casein-free, too (as well as vegan).