he leeks it, he really leeks it

With a 180 degree turn in the weather last weekend, Monday night's dinner was a comforting bowl of Potato Leek soup. This is one of my favorite soups and with the abundance of potatoes and leeks from our weekly CSA basket, it was an obvious choice on what to make for dinner. The stock was homemade from the weekend's turkey feast, but you could easily use store bought chicken stock for convenience.

Potato Leek Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
2 large potatoes, peeled, diced
4 1/2 cups (or more) chicken stock

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; stir to coat with butter. Cover saucepan; cook until leeks are tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes begin to soften but do not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree soup in a processor until smooth or with a hand blender. Thin with additional stock if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup back to simmer.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chives.

We were out of chives so we substituted with chopped scallions. We also added a sprinkle of shredded aged cheddar, and a tiny drizzle of a good quality olive oil.

It was a delicious, warming soup - a perfect meal for the chilly Fall season.

And Mony liked it, he really liked it.