I hate onions.
Pretty much everyone who knows me is aware of this fact. I’m notorious for ordering things at restaurants without onions, and reminding people who cook for me that I don’t eat them. “Sin cebollas” and ”sans oignon” are at the top of my Spanish and French conversational phrase lists. I know I sound really high maintenance here but what can I say? I can’t stand them, I’m getting all squirmy just thinking about them!
But, life is about challenging yourself and trying new things, is it not? So in that spirit, I’ve been chipping away at my onion distaste by working the occasional onion like product into my diet. A chive here, a funyun there… you can’t say that I’m not trying. As a result of this culinary adventuring, I recently made the shocking discovery that I actually kind of like leeks. Don’t tell any of my friends though, because the next thing you know they’ll be trying to feed me salsa fresca with giant hunks of raw onion in it and I will be so very sad.
Leeks though… not half bad. And it turns out that they are super good for you. So even if you are not a natural born leek liker, perhaps you will give them a shot for your health. And if you are a lover of leeks, then this is just the soup for you! It’s creamy, rich, satisfying, vegan, and not at all hard to make. What are you waiting for?
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts washed and sliced into ¼-inch slices
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion (I skipped this, but you might like it)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed into ½-inch cubes
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
- Heat a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.
- Add the leeks, onion, and sea salt and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to turn translucent.
- Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup in the pot or ladle the soup into a blender, 1 cup at a time. Blend the soup with the fresh rosemary leaves until smooth and free of chunks. Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all of the soup has been blended. Garnish with chili flakes and fresh ground pepper.
- Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through. Serve hot.
