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An Old Leek and Potato Soup with a New Albion Twist

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The anticipation mounted as we awaited the secret ingredient for our 6th annual Iron Chef Dinner Club extravaganza. We’ve done blueberries, chocolate, citrus, cheese, and mango and you never know what the Chairman has up his sleeve. This year it was–drum roll, please–potatoes! As in the past, each participant couple drew a number to determine the selection order, then drew a course. Ours was appetizer and we chose red skin potatoes.

While researching recipes I kept seeing roasted this and roasted that, which wasn’t very interesting, so I thought a soup would be fun. I always enjoy leeks so this seemed like a good choice. I found this recipe in my trusty 1972 edition of James Beard’s American Cookery. I modified it slightly as I’ll describe below.

There are many different recipes for potato soup, but potato and leek is one of the most enjoyed. It is also the basis for the cold soup called Vichyssoise made famous by chef Louis Diat at the Ritz Carlton in New York City.

I tripled this recipe for dinner club, but here’s what you’ll need for a normal batch:

5 or 6 leeks, about the diameter of a quarter. I had trouble finding small ones, so adjust based on a volume estimate.
3 T butter
3 c large-diced red skin potatoes
2 2/3 c chicken stock
1 1/3 c New Albion Ale
2 t salt or to taste
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t nutmeg, fresh ground
2 T butter
2 T flour

Trim and wash the leeks–you only want a little of the green stalk left over–split them lengthwise, and cut into thin slices after removing all the dirt and sand between the layers. Saute in 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet or Dutch over for 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and the beer and 1 c of stock, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg.

At this point the recipe calls for the vegetables to be strained out, put through a food mill or ricer and returned to the soup. I like the look and feel of the pieces of leek and potato in the thickened soup, so I omitted that step.

Melt 2 T butter in a small sauce pan over low heat and stir in the flour. Add the remaining stock and blend well until the mixture thickens. Return to the kettle, and stir until soup comes to a boil. Serve in hot soup bowls with a dash of fresh ground nutmeg.

If you prefer Vichyssoise, prepare the soup as above and do not omit the food mill/ricer step. Allow the soup to cool and add 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and blend well. Chill in the refrigerator and serve in chilled cups with a garnish of chopped chives. Or chill the soup without the heavy cream and serve in chilled cups with a large spoonful of sour cream and chopped chives.

I think the substitution of New Albion Ale for one-third of the liquid added some extra depth of flavor to the finished soup. While tasting it, it initially had a yeasty flavor, but as the soup finished cooking and the flavors came together, that changed. The beer definitely gave the finished soup a little something extra that you couldn’t quite place. And that’s what I was after.

Any way you make it, this is a hearty, flavorful, and thoroughly satisfying soup. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 


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