Friday, November 7, 2008

Buttermilk-Leek-Potato Soup

I found a web page from the farm where the buttermilk came from, Cruze Farm.  I linked to it in previous post (if you want me to unlink it, just tell me!).  The site claims that their buttermilk is churned.  Does that mean that it's the left over from the butter? Or is it the "artificial" buttermilk, the kind with a reagent added. I'm curious.

Last night I made both the Apple Cake and the Potato Soup.  Sutro came over after his lecture, so about 9:30 PM and we each had a lovely bowl of Potato Soup with a slice of rye bread. 

Potato Soup is one of my favorites of my mother's repetoir.  It is thick and creamy, almost like a slightly thinner bowl of mashed potatoes.  But there's a little something extra too.  My mother will serve hers topped with a thick dollop of sour cream, so I figured that my recent acquisition of buttermilk would work just fine.

With this bowl of soup I wanted to go vegetarian, so no chicken broth.  To fill in the flavors I used a PILE of leeks and some herbs.  They were so beautiful I just had to.  Because I didn't want to detract from that I didn't also use onions or garlic - possibly a first for me!

Buttermilk-Leek-Potato Soup

3 large Leeks, just the white parts, sliced
1 tbsp butter (approx)
1 cube vegetable bouillon
water
short 1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
approx 2 lbs potatoes, mostly peeled, cubed.
3 cups buttermilk

In your favorite big soup pot, add leeks and butter.  Cover and let soften over medium-low heat.

Dissolve the cube of bouillon in 1 cup water.

When leeks are transparent, add bouillon/water mix.  Add potatoes, rosemary and thyme.  Now add enough water just to cover the potatoes.  Turn heat to medium.

If it boils hard, turn heat down some.

When potatoes are soft, remove cover.  Blend/mash the entire content of the pot until smooth.  An immersion blender is perfect for this.

In a separate bowl, add about 1 1/2 cups buttermilk.  Slowly ladle hot soup into buttermilk until buttermilk/soup mixture is the same temperature as the soup.  Add mixture to the soup.  Repeat.  This technique keeps dairy products from curdling because of sudden temperature change.

Stir soup so buttermilk is well mixed.

Cover and let simmer until ready to serve. (Can sit for about 1/2 hour).

This soup freezes very well, so don't hesitate to double the recipe if you have a big pot!

No comments: