It’s amazing to me as one season ends and the next begins how I’m always ready for the change. As eager as I am in the spring to get gardening again after a long winter I’m just as anxious in the fall to put the garden to bed for another season.
As the annuals and perennials fade, the mums, pumpkins, gourds and fall foliage take center stage. To me, there’s something very comforting about the perfect order nature provides in what seems to be an increasingly imperfect world.
Equally exciting to me is the culinary transformation that occurs as our thoughts turn to the array of foods we can create unique to whatever season we’re in. There’s something thrilling about throwing that first steak of the summer on the grill and putting up that first pot of soup in the fall…it’s almost as if it was the first time for either.
Today was a much needed rainy day. With the weather changing, what better thing to do on a rainy day than make a pot of soup?
This soup I’ve created is based on two recipes from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics Cookbook. I’ve added the carrots, celery, and onions with a roux from her East Hampton Clam Chowder to the puree of her Roasted Potato Leek Soup, with a few other changes.
Roasting the potatoes and leeks enhances the flavor, while the addition of the sauteed vegetables and fresh thyme to the rich puree results in a hearty, comforting soup. The addition of the white wine doesn’t hurt, either!
Sheila’s Roasted Potato Leek Soup
Part 1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1 and ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned of all sand
¼ cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
6-7 cups chicken stock, (preferably homemade, but good store bought will do)
½ cup half and half (can substitute heavy cream or milk)
Combine potatoes, and leeks in a sheet pan in a single layer. Toss with olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to coat evenly.
Roast 40 to 45 minutes until tender, occasionally turning with a metal spatula. Remove pan and place on two burners. Stir in ½ cup white wine, and 1 cup chicken stock. Cook on low heat, scraping up any roasted bits sticking to the pan. (That’s where a lot of the flavor is).
Transfer to a Dutch oven or a large pot. Add 4 cups of chicken stock, and puree with an immersion blender.
Note: If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a food processor fitted with the steel blade. In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables, adding the pan liquid and about 4 cups of the chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven.
Add enough of the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add ½ cup half and half, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and check the seasonings.
Part 2
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups medium-diced celery
2 cups medium-diced carrots
4 cups peeled medium -diced potatoes (russet)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (½- ¾ teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
½ cup hot chicken stock
In a large heavy-bottomed saute pan melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until translucent. Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and saute for 10 more minutes.
Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
In a small pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter and whisk in ¼ cup flour. Cook over very low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in ½ cup hot stock, and then pour this mixture back into the cooked vegetables. Simmer for a few minutes until the broth is thickened.
Add the vegetables to the potato puree in the Dutch oven. Taste for salt and pepper.
Optional: When ready to serve,reheat the soup gently and whisk in 2 tablespoons white wine and ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish with a sprig of thyme.
