I received a bundle of leeks in my organic produce box this week and had no clue what to do with it. I have never cooked a leek in my life. I scoured the internet looking at different recipes and adapted more than a couple to come up with my own (I have issues following recipes to the letter, it just doesn't happen). My goal was to keep it easy and delicious and there's no doubt I succeeded. This soup was a HIT! Enjoy!



Ingredients:

8-10 potatoes
3 leeks
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound of bacon
1.5 cups of whole milk
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1.5 cups water (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel and cut potatoes. In a large stockpot, bring potatoes and broth to a boil. Continue to cook until potatoes are tender. 
2. Cup up bacon (I use scissors and cut in 1 inch strips) and place in deep drying pan on medium heat. Cook until evenly brown. Remove bacon but leave grease in pan.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Clean and cut leeks. **leeks are notorious for being full of dirt - watch this video for a how-to for leek-prep**
4. Saute the leeks in the frying pan with the reserved bacon grease (for 8-10 min on medium heat).
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Once potatoes are tender, stir in fried leeks, milk and bacon. Turn off heat and let soup begin to cool. Stir in shredded cheese (I wait until the soup has been cooling for about 15 min, so the cheese doesn't break down).
   
   
   
   
   
6. Decision time: if you like chunky soup, use a potato masher until soup is desired consistency. If you like creamy soup, grab a hand blender and puree away! NOTE: I found the soup SUPER thick at this point so I added 1.5 cups of water while pureeing (this is optional but it didn't impact the flavor in the slightest).
   
   
   
   
   
7. ENJOY!!
   
   if you want to be real fancy-like, you can top with left over chopped leeks (I forgot to save any), shredded cheese, bacon (which I also forgot to save for picture-taking purposes) and a dollop of sour cream. YUM!!