A rich, smooth and velvety soup.

Ingredients

  • 25 g butter
  • 300 g leeks (about 2 average-sized, dark green tops removed, white bits thinly sliced)
  • 175 g potatoes (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 l light vegetable or chicken stock
  • 75 ml single cream
  • 100 g (to 150) blue cheese, such as cashel blue, stilton, gorgonzola or roquefort (crumbled plus 25g for serving)

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan, add the leeks, potatoes and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cover.
  2. Turn the heat down to low and let the vegetables sweat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then to ensure they don't burn (see also the handy tip below).
  3. After 10 minutes add the stock, increase the heat and simmer for a further 8–10 minutes until the potatoes and leeks are soft.
  4. Remove the bay leaves, add the cream and the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to a liquidiser.
  5. Whiz the soup until it is smooth and velvety. Return to the saucepan to re-heat, tasting and seasoning if necessary.
  6. To serve, pour the soup into warm bowls and sprinkle with the extra crumbled blue cheese.
  7. Rachel's handy tip: If making this soup with a strong blue cheese like Roquefort or Gorgonzola, I only add 100g, but if you are using a milder blue cheese like Cashel Blue, you might need 125–150g.
  8. Rachel's handy tip: When sweating onions or other vegetables for a long time, I like to cover them with a butter wrapper or a piece of greaseproof paper as well as the saucepan lid. This helps to retain the moisture and makes sure they don't burn.

 

This recipe and many more are available from Rachel's book Rachel's Food for Living published by Harper Collins