SOUPer Bowl...Potato Leek Soup

I couldn't resist that title. I am not a huge football fan, though I do enjoy watching a game, but with my team out of it this year I wasn't too excited. That combined with a cold meant I just wanted to sit on my couch and have some soup for the game.

I still can't get used to how early the games start out here on the West Coast. I ended up cooking during halftime (which turned into blackout time pretty quickly). By the time the game picked back up, we were ready with our potato leek soup.

We get leeks pretty frequently in the winter CSA, but the combination of leeks and potatoes this week just screamed soup. I added in a couple of bulbs of  celery root for a little kick. Celery root (or celeriac) is related to the commonly used celery stalks and has a similar flavor with a texture similar to a turnip.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

2 lbs. potatoes
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts
2 small bulbs celery root
32 oz. (4 cups) vegetable stock
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup half and half
Fresh ground black pepper

The celery root are the furry looking things in the back.

Remove the dark green parts and ends of the leeks and wash thoroughly. You can save the tops of the leeks and the celery root to make stock if you want. Cut into quarters and chop. In a large pot, melt butter on medium heat and add leeks. Cook until they are tender and start to brown. (About 5 min.)

While the leeks are cooking, wash potatoes and celery root and cut into quarters. The size of the pieces doesn't matter too much since it will all be pureed. When leeks start to brown, add roots and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil.

Turn down to a simmer and cook covered until potatoes are soft, 20-30 minutes. Then puree with an immersion blender or in batches with a regular blender.

Stir in half and half and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve with bread and salad.

This soup gets a little thick as it sits. On reheating it was more of a porridge, but still delicious. This could be helped by adding a little broth.

A pretty delicious and easy soup overall. The celery root really adds some depth to the flavor. The huge batch I made was gone in two days.