Cream of Leek, Parsnip and Potato...

chopped leeks

Guided by Chef Gaetanne Larocque

woman wearing ppe peeling parsnips

Ingredients

  • 6 parsnips
  • 4 white onions
  • 1L 35% cream
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 4 medium sized potatoes- russet if you got them
  • 4 leeks
  • 3 garlic bulbs
  • 2 bouillon cubes of vegetable soup base/ broth dissolved in 1 litre of water
  • White pepper
  • Salt
  • Rosemary and Thyme sprigs 4-6

Tools

  • Cheese cloth
  • Large pot
  • Measuring cups
  • Wooden spoon
  • Sheet pan
  • Baking pan
  • Cutting board
  • Immersion blender or potato masher

Instructions

  1. Carefully wash the leeks, slice down the middle and make sure to get all the dirt out, especially where the white parts meet the green parts. Slice them across the grain to make semi-circles (like the photo above). Save about half of the leeks to put in at the very end.
  2. Peel the potatoes and let them soak in water a bit so the starch can leach out, dice into smaller pieces to be steamed. Steaming them removes starch so the soup does not get too thick. They can be cut into smaller chunks, about an inch or so to cook faster, eventually, they will be “whizzed up” with the immersion blender.
  3. Slice the parsnips in long skinny pieces and then dice them into small pieces that will fit nicely in a soup spoon. These will be sautéed and added at the end after the rest has been blended with the immersion blender. To sauté, cover lightly with a bit of butter or pork lard, or olive oil and roast in the oven until they are soft. It is ok if the edges get a tiny bit browned
  4. Dice the onions into small pieces
  5. Smash the garlic and cut into very small pieces
  6. Boil the kettle of water, and once boiled, dissolve 2 bouillon cubes into about a litre of water.
  7. Put the fresh herbs in a piece of cheese cloth or a tea seeping bag, so that you don’t have small pieces of herbs floating in the soup, use a cotton string (like butcher’s twine) to tie it, leave a long handle, so you can tie it to the outside handle. Do NOT use a rubber band
  8. Cook the onions and leeks in the butter in the big soup pot. Once soft, add the garlic and cook a few more minutes, add the white pepper (about ½ teaspoon). Use white pepper, so that you won’t see black pepper in the beautiful light green soup broth.
  9. Cover with the water/bouillon cubed water, and add enough water to get you to your final quantity, add the herb sachet and bring to a boil and then drop to a simmer.
  10. Add the steamed potatoes and cook for a while.
  11. When the potatoes are soft enough, remove the herb bag, use the immersion blender to whiz everything into fine pieces.
  12. Add the cooked parsnips and the remainder of the leeks, so these appear as tiny pieces floating in the soup
  13. Taste for salt, add a bit more if needed
  14. At the very end, while serving, pour a few tablespoons of whipping cream into the bowl
  15. Enjoy!!