How to make Smokey Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

4  - 6 pieces of bacon
3 - 4 leeks well washed and chopped
4 - 6 large red potatoes peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic
2 bay leaves leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
1 /2 cup dry white wine
1 standard box of chicken stock
2 cups water salt and pepper to taste creme fraiche or sour cream to taste

Procedure

1. In a deep stock pot cook pieces of bacon.  When bacon is crispy remove and place on paper towels to drain.
2. You will cook the leeks in the drippings.  If you want you can remove some of the oil depending on how much was rendered from the bacon.  My bacon wasn't all that fatty so I left what was in the pot.
3. Over medium heat add the leeks.  Cook for 10 minutes.
4. De-glaze with white wine
5. Add potatoes, garlic, stock, herbs, salt and pepper
6. Simmer covered for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft
7. If you have an immersion blender you can blend soup at this point to desired thickness
8. I just have a regular blender.  In batches place soup in blender, leave cover off and place a towel over opening.  Blend until just smooth.  I needed to add some water at this point to get the mixture to blend.
9. For an extra smooth soup you can pour blended soup through a sieve.  I found my briefly blended soup to have a lovely and smooth texture so I didn't bother.
10. Don't use a Cuisinart for this step as it will make the texture like paste.

** Never try to blend a hot liquid fully covered!  The heat will expand, the top will blow off and you will have a HOT mess!  Trust me, this can happen as I learned many years ago!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Source: http://www.nibbledish.com/people/chatnchow/recipes/smokey-potato-leek-soup