Rustic Potato-Leek Soup - Cooks Illustrated

Published January 1, 2000.

For a country-style soup with the best flavor, we had to find the right variety of potato—and use more of the leek than is traditional.

The Problem

We have always liked the classic creamy soup that French cooks make from potatoes and leeks but on occasion find it a little too refined. At times, we want these two ingredients at their most basic.

The Goal

We wanted to part company with the creamy French classic and take on the challenge of a more peasant-style soup.

The Solution

In keeping with our goal for a rustic soup, we decided not to puree the soup but to leave it full of chunks of potato and even some pieces of leek. The potatoes best suited to this task were the waxy, low-starch Red Bliss. We left pieces of leek in the soup not only for texture but for flavor. We knew that potatoes and leeks would need different simmering times. Stewing the leeks over a low flame to coax out as much flavor as possible, we added the potatoes later, with the broth, then simmered until almost tender. We then removed the pot from the heat and allowed the potatoes to finish cooking in the hot broth, thereby preventing them from overcooking and getting mushy.

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