Asparagus & Leek Soup
Most recipes that use leeks as a main ingredient tend to be very similar - leeks with potatoes and/or cream, cheese, white sauce. I have to say I love a rich and creamy leek gratin, but I wanted to try something lighter, something different.
As I had just bought a large bundle of wonderful asparagus, I was excited to find this very favorably reviewed Asparagus & Leek soup recipe at Epicurious.com.
This very simple recipe produced a elegant, creamy soup, bursting with flavor. We tasted it before adding light sour cream and it was deliciously creamy already. I'd skip the sour cream next time as I felt it muted the flavor a little and was really unnecessary.
I substituted vegetable stock for the chicken stock and had to adjust the seasoning at the end. Also note that this recipe only produces two bowls of soup, so double the recipe if you're feeding more that two as an appetizer.
posted by Catherine at 4:23 PM
2 Comments:
I have to admit that I just don't understand leeks. Here's a whole plant that you only use a tiny, tiny portion of. And that portion isn't the root or the leaves, but the white part of the base. Unusual. And, I also don't understand the attraction. For the amount of "stuff" that you get off of one leek per cost of the leek, it's a very expensive veggie. But everyone seems to use leeks since so many recipes call for them. What's the attraction? I don't discern a particularly great flavor. What am I missing?
It isa shame you can't use the whole thing. But there's nothing like the flavor of leeks - they're dreamy and subtle and add to and enhance other flavors. For example, with this soup recipe, the asparagus would have been overwhelmed by onions, but the leeks were mellow enough to make it work wonderfully. I have to admit, I currently have a farmer's market source where I can get 3-4 fair sized organic leeks for $1.50, but they can be very expensive.
And, of course, they go very well with cheese!
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