Matt Farrell's Potato Leek Soup

Growing up in a Scottish/German household meant being exposed to a variety of culinary delights... most of the time. Brussel sprouts, in my case, being the exception. In many instances, I have kept the recipes as they were taught to me. In other cases, often with regards to root vegetables, I have tried to find ways to perfect them.

Soups were, and continue to be, a source of comfort food in our family. On hand, for you never know when the moment calls for soup, are the basic ingredients to pull together a quick, easy, and delicious soup: onion, potato, carrots, celery, frozen peas, leeks, garlic, chicken stock (or bullion cubes - I prefer Knorr), and cream. It also doesn't hurt to have fennel, chicken or beef, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, assorted root vegetables - just for variation.

The best soup that my father makes is potato leek soup. This is a great soup served piping hot with crusty bread, but is equally delicious served cold on a hot summer day with a dollop of sour cream.

Potato Leek Soup

1. Cut off the tops and bottoms of three leeks (and throw these away), then slice the remaining bases in half, length wise.



2. Chop these up, then rinse underwater in a colander for about a minute. *Leeks can be substituted with one and a half large onions.*



3. In a large pot, begin to saute leeks in 3 tbs butter. Cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally. Your kitchen will smell amazing.




4. Next, pour in either: a) 12 cups water or b) 12 cups chicken stock. - Here at Mo's house, we like to add water and add chicken bullion to taste.



5. Begin peeling potatoes. We're using 10-12 small golden potatoes, but the type used will change the taste and the consistency of the soup. Golden and butter potatoes tend to make a creamier soup, while russet potatoes will be less so. Also, the more potatoes you use, the thicker the soup will be. Experiment to find your favorites!



6. To make a creamy soup without using cream, add two-three tablespoons of flour to the leek/butter mixture (pre-water or chicken stock) and stir. Here at Mo's house, we love cream. But if you want the taste but don't want the calories... then go ahead and add the flour.

7. Chop the peeled potatoes into cubes. Don't worry about being to precise, as these will be blended in the soup later.



8. Add the potato pieces to the pot, adjusting the heat on the stove to bring the water to a boil.



9. If you used water, add chicken bullion cubes. We put in 5 Knorr cubes (1 cube for 2 cups), but this will depend on the amount of water.


10. Boil for about 15-20 minutes (until the potatoes are soft). Take pot off the stove.

11. Using either a Smart-stick Hand Mixer or a blender, blend the soup until it is smooth.



12. Dish up, drizzle with heavy cream, and serve with salt and pepper to taste.



13. Enjoy!

Love, Mo

Blackeyed Pea Soup!

Happy New Year Mo! Did you know that I love blackeyed peas? My mother grew them in her garden in Texas and we spent many happy hours watching TV and shelling peas. Mom always picked the pods when they were young and the peas were still green. We ate them in the late summer and put them up in the freezer for the winter. If you have never had fresh blackeyed peas, it might come as a surprise that they are actually green. The frozen, dried or canned ones sold in most grocery stores are a sort of a pale, beigy color. Moreover, flavor-wise, they are a pale imitation of the fresh, home-grown variety of my youth. Nonetheless, it is a must to eat blackeyed peas at the beginning of each New Year for good luck and, as I have no better option, I use the grocery store, frozen ones. They can be doctored-up into a fairly good side dish such as Hoppin' John. This year, I improvised a soup which was quite tasty, the recipe for which follows so that, in the event you have not had your good luck blackeyed peas yet, you can give these a whirl. (Now, I know many people are not fond of blackeyed peas. In fact, I recall a children's song with the lyric "I'd rather eat boogers than blackeyed peas." Obviously, whoever wrote that song never had fresh blackeyed peas.) So without further adieu:

Blackeyed Pea Soup

• One bag of frozen blackeyed peas
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup cubed, smoked ham (or as much as you like, a nice Kielbasa would also work)
• 1 tsp salt
• tons of fresh ground pepper
• chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce (as much as you like)
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t dried oregano
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups of cooked broccoli rabe (I used some I had leftover from another meal)
• Olive oil for sauteing garlic

Bring water and broth to a boil and add peas. Bring back to a boil then lower heat and simmer, adding ham, salt, pepper, tobasco and other dry spices. Cook until tender, which takes about 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, chop up and parboil the broccoli rabe until firm-tender, drain and dry off a bit. Heat 2-3 T of olive oil in separate saute pan and saute garlic for about 30 seconds, add broccoli rabe until tender but not mushy and add some salt and pepper. Use some of the liquid used to parboil the broccoli rabe, if necessary to keep it moist while sauteing.
Combine the tender broccoli rabe with the blackeyed peas and simmer for 10 minutes or so to marry the flavors. Adjust seasoning and add more hot sauce, if you like. Good with a little splash of apple cider vinegar. Better the next day. Good luck in the New Year!!

-Jo