• Yield: 8 servings

  • Time: 10 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking, 40 minutes total


This potato, leek, and broth base is a wonderful building block for an astounding number of flavorful, velvety soups. The recipe for fennel soup follows, but in place of the fennel, try adding a cup of chopped carrots, or corn off the cob, or chopped broccoli, or diced turnips. I could go on! The method is the same: First, you soften the vegetables, then add the broth and just a bit of cream, simmer, and purée. If you omit all the other vegetables, this becomes the perfect potato and leek soup; serve it chilled and you have a great vichyssoise.


Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1 whole leek, trimmed and chopped

  • 1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped, tops reserved for garnish

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 potato, peeled and roughly chopped

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 1/2 cup cream

  • Salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions


1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and sweat the leeks and fennel, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more.


2. Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce immediately to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.


3. Transfer the soup to a blender and purée. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds.


From My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking by John Besh/Andrews McMeel Publishing.