If you know my family and me, you know that we love Ireland. So much so, that we have spent about 5 weeks there over the past year. Our time there was so lovely and full of beautiful, amazing adventure, and we hold many memories from our time in that gorgeous country. It is one place that I wouldn't mind visiting again and again, as there is so much take in, you can never feel like you have done or seen it all.
Anyways, this recipe comes from seeing many, many different variations in my many Irish cookbooks. This recipe is a bit of a combination of several, just so I could make it exactly how my family likes it. This smooth and creamy soup is bursting with flavor, though it looks simple. And it is best served with Brown Bread, which I will be sharing our favorite recipe for later this week.
Potato Leek Soup
3 tbsp. butter
2 leeks, cleaned and diced, white parts only
1 quart chicken broth (vegetable broth works fine, too)
1 cup water
8 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 cup heavy cream
In a large stock pot, melt the butter and then add the diced leeks. Saute until the leeks are tender and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the broth, water, potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.
Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream.
Using an immersion blender, **gently** (so as to not make a mess), blend the soup until smooth.
Serve with brown bread and enjoy!