Darina Allen's winter leek & potato soup

Darina Allen's winter leek & potato soup

Of the winter soups, leek and potato is one of the most comforting and familiar - and Darina Allen's makes the most of seasonal, local veg

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 40-50 minutes

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Veggie (if you use vegetable stock)

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it foams, add the potatoes, onion and leeks and toss them in the butter until they are well coated. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper and toss again. Put a disc of greaseproof paper (called a cartouche by chefs) on top of the vegetables to keep in the steam), then cover the pan with its lid. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.
  2. Uncover the pan and discard the paper. Pour in 850ml/11⁄2 pints of the stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are just cooked - about 5 minutes. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh flavour.
  3. Purée in a blender until silky smooth, in batches if necessary, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Return the soup to a clean pan and stir in three quarters of the cream and all of the milk.
  4. To finish the soup, finely shred the white leek and gently cook it in the hot butter for a few minutes until it is softened but not coloured. Reheat the soup to a gentle simmer (add some extra stock at this point if the soup is too thick for your liking), then pour into warmed bowls. Drizzle the remaining cream over each serving, top with a little pile of buttered leeks and a scattering of chives and black pepper and serve at once.

Per serving for six

252 kcalories, protein 5g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 3g, salt 0.7 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2003.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 81-98

  • Binder photo theonlygeorgie

    08 June 2012

    theonlygeorgie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Best soup I've ever made, totally delicious. Will definitely make again.

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  • Binder photo ray_williams99

    22 June 2012

    ray_williams99 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Superb recipe for a very tasty soup which was easy to make. Excellent served with some home made bread covered in a good quality butter :)

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  • Binder photo Em's

    29 August 2012

    Em's rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really creamy, even though I didn't use the cream and only skimmed milk. Used a couple of cloves of garlic and a chili to give it a kick. Yummy.

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  • Binder photo debs7180

    08 October 2012

    debs7180 commented on this recipe

    Fab soup. Made a couple of times now. I always add a bit of chilli for that extra kick :-)

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  • Binder photo MagicalMum

    13 October 2012

    MagicalMum rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is by far the best recipe for l&p soup!

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  • Binder photo Annietj

    16 October 2012

    Annietj commented on this recipe

    I have been making this soup (or one identical to it) for years, it was a classic Delia recipe from her cookery course. It is just gorgeous. I noticed someone complained there were no chunky bits - I too like some body so all I do is remove about a third of the veg before blending, then put it back, silky smooth but with the satisfying depth of a chunky soup!

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  • Binder photo Soph

    06 November 2012

    Soph rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Possibly the best soup I have ever made. Needed quite a bit of seasoning but end result is delicious. Didn't use milk and accidentally used just under 300ml of double cream (not sure it's healthy now!!) but tastes incredible. Quite easy to do as well. Will definitely make again. For those that want lumps - just don't blend as much! I think it's perfect smooth.

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  • Binder photo Lola_Balola

    14 November 2012

    Lola_Balola rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very tasty and quick to make. I roasted the leeks in the oven before adding to the sautéed potatoes. I didn't add milk or cream and it was still very creamy consistency. You may blend as little or much as you like, according to your chunky/creamy preference.

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  • Binder photo emcloughlin

    10 December 2012

    emcloughlin rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Brookymum

    31 December 2012

    Brookymum rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Really tasty and very easy to make.

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  • Binder photo Billy43

    19 January 2013

    Billy43 commented on this recipe

    Very easy to make, Tastes great!

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  • Binder photo sujane

    02 February 2013

    sujane rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    They were right when they said "Easy".... it was so simple to make. It did get a bit scary when I left the cartouche on it... and when I took it off, perhaps I should have given it a stir halfway through the cook time as I had a few bits browned to the bottom of the pan.. otherwise really tasty. Not a soup for the light hearted and small appetite people.. its heavy and very filling.

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  • Binder photo cloudstuff

    17 February 2013

    cloudstuff rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Excellent recipe - I scaled it to use up our remaining allotment leeks - I even left more green than was suggested here - was perfect as a winter warmer!

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  • Binder photo lee

    25 February 2013

    lee rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious tasty soup the family loved it!

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  • Binder photo lizleicester

    13 March 2013

    lizleicester rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious winter warmer. Had to be dairy free so left out the cream and milk but it was still a lovely, tasty soup in which I left a few veg un-pureed which is a texture I prefer.

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  • Binder photo lizleicester

    13 March 2013

    lizleicester commented on this recipe

    Delicious winter warmer. Had to be dairy free so left out the cream and milk but it was still a lovely, tasty soup in which I left a few veg un-pureed which is a texture I prefer.

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  • Binder photo Galanthis

    14 March 2013

    Galanthis commented on this recipe

    Lovely. Even my veggie hating carnivorous husband likes it.

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  • Binder photo Kitchen Goddess

    28 April 2013

    Kitchen Goddess commented on this recipe

    Really nice - made it for my mother who is convalescing. She wouldn't have any other soup but this. The whole family liked it. :)

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6 - 8

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 40-50 minutes

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Veggie (if you use vegetable stock)

Silky smooth and creamy

Ingredients

  • 50g butter
  • 450g potatoes , peeled and cut into 1cm pieces (try Golden Wonders or Kerr Pinks)
  • 1 small onion , cut the same size as the potatoes
  • 450g white parts of leeks , sliced (save the green tops for another soup or stock)
  • 850ml-1.2litres/1.5-2pts light chicken or vegetable stock
  • 142ml carton whipping cream
  • 125ml full-fat milk

TO FINISH

  • the white part of 1 leek
  • a small knob of butter
  • finely chopped chives
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Per serving for six

252 kcalories, protein 5g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 18 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 3g, salt 0.7 g

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