It’s only been in recent years that I’ve become familiar with leeks. I never see them in our local grocery store but I now occasionally buy a leek from the natural food coop to which I belong or at Whole Foods in the city. I think my first use was the Magical Leek Soup recipe from French Women Don’t Get Fat. It’s supposed to be a great way to jump start a more focused way of eating. You basically eat nothing but this soup for a 48 hour period. Leeks are a mild diuretic so you’re likely to see the results on the scale even in this short period of time.
I need to do that again next time David is going to be away for 2 or 3 days but the other night I made a different, more caloric leek soup: Leek, Potato and Corn Chowder. It turned out really well so I’m sharing it with you.
Leek, Potato and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek, carefully washed and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1-2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1-2 cups water
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and Creole seasoning to taste
- 2 cups frozen corn
- Splash of heavy cream
- grated cheddar cheese
- parsley
Instructions
- Heat butter and oil in large pot over medium high heat.
- Add leeks, red pepper, celery and potatoes.
- Cook until vegetables begin to soften, stirring to prevent scorching.
- Add chicken broth.
- Mix flour and milk together until smooth and add to simmering soup.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and Creole seasoning.
- Add corn.
- Simmer until vegetables are tender, adding water as necessary if soup is too thick.
- Add splash of heavy cream (optional but nice).
- Serve in large soup bowls and top with grated cheese and parsley.
This made enough for David and I to each have two bowls for dinner with 3 cups left over for lunches.
I served it with Homemade Cheddar Biscuits which were delicious.
This recipe is definitely going on my “keeper” list!
This post is linked up with the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop @ Recipes For Our Daily Bread.
That soup looks absolutely delicious! Leeks are always in stock at both Meijer and Trader Joes here, so I can get them easily. I will definitely be trying this recipe in the new future. I’m pinning it, too. 🙂
PS – Just tried pinning and it won’t let me. Says “image cannot be fetched”. Don’t know if the problem is on your end or mine.
It’s on my end – a new problem. I’ve asked for help in my blogger tribe group. Thanks for telling me. I was having the same problem but my internet was so slow I thought it was on my end..
Let me know what you think of it. We loved it!
It seems amazing to me that you can’t get leeks easily. Not only can you find them pretty much everywhere over here, but they’re one of the national symbols for Wales (the other two being the daffodil and the red dragon).
Anyway, your recipe sounds tasty. I’ve had leek and potato soup before, but not had it with corn added to it… Might try that some time, since I really like corn.
I’m sure they are more easily available in larger towns. And it’s possible Walmart carries them – I haven’t shopped there in about 7 years, though. Do let me know what you think if you try it.
Will do.
And, them only being more easily available in larger towns is still weird to me… Even the most rural of areas in Wales can get hold of leeks as a rule, so I’m used to them being everywhere (especially around February and March). Still, there are things we struggle to get that you can find easily pretty much anywhere too.
I wonder if it’s a regional thing here. They might be more readily available in other parts of the country.
Could be…