Potato Leek Soup with Bacon
This warm and delicious potato leek soup recipe makes a wonderful starter. The ingredients are very simple and the main flavours come from the potatoes, leeks and bacon. The milk and cream add a wonderful, luxurious creaminess and the chicken stock gives the soup a good flavour. You could use vegetable stock if you wanted to but the best thing to use is fresh chicken stock rather than using stock cubes. Choose lean bacon for making this leek potato soup recipe, rather than streaky bacon, both for the better texture and a meatier flavour.
For a healthier soup or a less creamy one, you can just leave out the single cream. If you don't want a chunky soup, puree everything in the liquidizer, including all the leeks and bacon. The croutons add a nice crunch to this leek and potato soup recipe and you could bake them instead of toasting them if you prefer. Toss them in olive oil and dried herbs if you want to make a gourmet croutons recipe.
Potato leek soup is a classic British starter recipe and if it's a winter warmer you're after this recipe is hard to beat. This is quite a filling soup, especially with the croutons, so only give people small bowlfuls if you expect them to eat their main course too! You can double up this leek and potato soup recipe if you want to and have it reheated for lunch the following day.
Creamy Leek and Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients -
300g peeled, sliced potatoes
300g sliced leeks
290ml milk
50ml single cream
150g chopped bacon
700ml chicken stock
4 slices bread
Black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Saute the bacon, leeks and potato slices in a pan until everything is tender but not browned. You can use the microwave instead if you prefer. Stir in the stock and keep cooking until the potatoes are soft.
Remove some of the bacon and leek slices for garnish, then blend the rest of the soup in batches in the liquidizer. Put it back in the pan and stir in the milk and cream. Toast the bread and cut it into cubes to make croutons.
Divide the soup between 6 serving dishes and garnish with the reserved bacon and leek slices. Serve the croutons on the side so people can help themselves.
(Serves 6)
Photo Description:
This delicious hot soup recipe makes an amazing starter. Served hot, the leek, potato and bacon flavours clearly shine through and the milk, cream and chicken stock combine to give an aromatic taste. This is a simple soup recipe but a classic one which has stood the test of time. Potatoes and leeks are winter vegetables and they can be used to make stews and casseroles, as well as starter recipes like this one. Soup starters are great at dinner parties and if you want to serve something rich, full flavoured and warming, leek and potato soup with bacon is an excellent choice.
