Leek Soup... Breaking the norm here, no baking involved

My new edible obsession: Leeks!

yummm

Okay, so if you have never had leeks before (like me prior to the Olympic experimental cooking posted last week) they are awesome! They kind of have the taste of subtle green onions but give the feel of a much more substantial vegetable presence... think cabbage or brussel sprouts (another newly aquired taste of mine). On a random aside, have you ever seen how those grow? Brussel sprouts, I mean. They are flippin' awesome! Check it out! I want to grow them just cause they look so cool, and they taste pretty darn good too.

Anyways, if you haven't had LEEKS don't be afraid of them, they are my new friend, they are nice, they are easy to get along with. Play with them in your kitchen. 

So after the galette I wanted to experiment further. Soup sounded perfect in rainy chilly mid April... yes, that is how far behind I am with the blogging.... 

Ingredients:

4 tbs Unsalted Butter

1 lbs Mushrooms of your choice (i like crimini or baby bellas) chopped roughly

2-3 Large Leeks; white and pale green parts only, cut into 1/4 inch rings 

3 tbs AP Flour (look! see? still using a left over Kurio ingredients)

3 cups Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

1-2 cups Milk (optional)

See? souper simple... hehe

First, to prep the leeks. Cut them into good bite sized rings discarding root ends and darker green leafy ends. Place in a large bowl of cold water to rinse. They are very gritty/dirty/sandy/what have you and need this bath. And it is also a good time to break apart the fun little layers of rings so they cook more evenly later. 

In a large stock pot over medium high heat melt 2 tbs butter until hot but not smoking. Saute mushrooms, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl and save for later. If you have more mushrooms than space on the bottom of your pan you can do this in batches. Just remember to add more butter with second half of mushrooms. As Julia says "don't crowd your mushrooms." 

In same stock pot heat remaining butter. Stir in leeks, cover and cook, stirring often, until soft. 

Add mushrooms back into the pot. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and stir to evenly coat. Stir in chicken stock/broth. I also added a cup or two of milk to mine for a creamier rather than just brothy soup. 

Bring to a boil stirring often. Add salt and pepper to your liking, reduce heat to low "set lid ajar" and simmer for roughly 15 minutes. If you have the patience. I didn't. I was hungry and it smelled so good and I kind of liked the little bit of crispness the leeks still had to them. I honestly don't know if they would go completely mushy if you cooked them for too long but it seemed like a possibility... and I'm impatient sometimes. 

Soup can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, covered. If you can wait.... 

and it's so pretty!