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booksomewenchSo, almost completely due to my love of cooking in Skyrim, the other day I picked up leeks while grocery shopping. I've never cooked or eaten leeks before, but the placard at the store explained they tasted like a cross between garlic and scallions, which meant that I then had to get them. Om nom nom nom.
As an aside, my awesome Remicaid salad lacked scallions today. Filled with sadness.
Anyway, the only thing I had heard of to make with leeks is leek and potato soup. Aless lazy more experimental person than myself would probably have looked up more options, but leek and potato soup sounded pretty good, so I decided to just stick with that. I had no idea how to make it, so I spent about ten minutes googling 'leek and potato soup recipes' online.
Dude, how is 'googling' not recognized by spellcheck on the internet? By that same token, how is 'spellcheck' not recognized, either?
Returning to the topic at hand, every recipe I found in that ten minute span said that at some point, I was going to have to pour everything into a blender or food processor. Beinglazy spectacularly uncoordinated not particularly fond of smooth soups lacking chunks of discernible ingredients, I decided to just kind of make up a recipe as I went along.
It resulted in PURE AWESOME.
Ingredients (all measurements are handwavey unless otherwise specified. Especially with things like spices and seasonings, I just add until I think I'm done):
*6 large Russet potatoes, peeled and "cubed"
*2 bunches leeks
*2 bunches scallions
*2 yellow onions
*2.5 lbs bacon
*Frozen corn
*Chicken broth
*Garlic
*Adobo
*Pepper
*Parsley
*Other seasonings
*1 quart light cream
*3 Tbs butter
*3 Tbs flour
*Water
Cooking:
So, first I peeled and "cubed" the potatoes. Cubed is in quotation marks because I just kind of hack them until they're the size I want, which could be anywhere from quartered on down, depending on the size of the potato. I seasoned the potatoes with Adobo, pepper, parsley flakes, and possibly some Italian seasoning and dumped them into a pot. I filled that pot with chicken broth (much more than was needed to cover them, possibly two quarts?) and turned it on to medium-high to cook the potatoes.
Then I cut up the bacon and fried it in a frying pan. I probably wouldn't have used the entire 2.5lb package, but it was frozen and defrosting it in water was going to take too long. I tossed it into the microwave and part of it started to cook a little by the time it was done, so I shrugged and decided to use it all.
BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MORE BACON, OKAY?
I learned a few soups and/or chowders dinners back that you should never just toss raw bacon into the pot and let it cook. It does cook, no worries about that, but it gets boiled, which results in a displeasing texture and a lack of delicious bacon-y flavor. So, protip folks, always fry up your bacon first. I like my bacon pretty soft and chewy, not hard and crunchy, so I undercooked it just slightly, then scooped the bacon out of the pan and tossed it in with the potatoes. It finished cooking there, but maintained its proper texture and flavor. I emptied the bag of frozen corn into the pot as well and let them all cook together.
I reserved the bacon grease and dumped in a LOT of minced garlic, and the washed, peeled, and chopped scallions, onions, and leeks, then added more adobo, pepper, parsley, and whatnot to the pan over them. I sauteed everything until the yellow onions got translucent and everything else got soft, then added that into the pot with the potatoes and bacon. Then I added the quart of cream, more seasonings, stirred it all together, and let it simmer.
While it was simmering, I decided it needed to be thicker and made a roux. For a roux, all you need is equal parts flour and fat (butter, lard, drippings, shortening) and a liquid. First, you melt the butter and add the flour (I used 3 Tbs of each) stirring frantically so it doesn't burn. It's usually best to have someone helping, so they can add the liquid in and you don't have to stop stirring. I normally use the same broth for the roux as I do for the soup base, but I was out of chicken broth and just used water instead.
The first tip for a good roux is to not let anything burn, which is why constantly stirring is mandatory. The second is to add your liquid a little at a time. It's something you just kind of have to eyeball, but stick to a few tablespoons at a time, no more than a quarter cup. At first when you add the water, the flour mixture will soak it up and you'll just have more stuff to whisk around. As you keep adding more, however, you will eventually get a nice, thick liquid, a little thicker than gravy (which makes sense, considering gravy is just a roux with more liquid and seasonings).
Once the roux was finished, I stirred it into the soup itself and let the whole thing cook for about another 5 or so minutes. After that, the soup/chowder was done, ladled into bowls, and served with a nice savory bread. I suggest the rosemary bread recipe included with bread machines, but a thick rye or sourdough will also do.
As an aside, my awesome Remicaid salad lacked scallions today. Filled with sadness.
Anyway, the only thing I had heard of to make with leeks is leek and potato soup. A
Dude, how is 'googling' not recognized by spellcheck on the internet? By that same token, how is 'spellcheck' not recognized, either?
Returning to the topic at hand, every recipe I found in that ten minute span said that at some point, I was going to have to pour everything into a blender or food processor. Being
It resulted in PURE AWESOME.
Ingredients (all measurements are handwavey unless otherwise specified. Especially with things like spices and seasonings, I just add until I think I'm done):
*6 large Russet potatoes, peeled and "cubed"
*2 bunches leeks
*2 bunches scallions
*2 yellow onions
*2.5 lbs bacon
*Frozen corn
*Chicken broth
*Garlic
*Adobo
*Pepper
*Parsley
*Other seasonings
*1 quart light cream
*3 Tbs butter
*3 Tbs flour
*Water
Cooking:
So, first I peeled and "cubed" the potatoes. Cubed is in quotation marks because I just kind of hack them until they're the size I want, which could be anywhere from quartered on down, depending on the size of the potato. I seasoned the potatoes with Adobo, pepper, parsley flakes, and possibly some Italian seasoning and dumped them into a pot. I filled that pot with chicken broth (much more than was needed to cover them, possibly two quarts?) and turned it on to medium-high to cook the potatoes.
Then I cut up the bacon and fried it in a frying pan. I probably wouldn't have used the entire 2.5lb package, but it was frozen and defrosting it in water was going to take too long. I tossed it into the microwave and part of it started to cook a little by the time it was done, so I shrugged and decided to use it all.
BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MORE BACON, OKAY?
I learned a few soups and/or chowders dinners back that you should never just toss raw bacon into the pot and let it cook. It does cook, no worries about that, but it gets boiled, which results in a displeasing texture and a lack of delicious bacon-y flavor. So, protip folks, always fry up your bacon first. I like my bacon pretty soft and chewy, not hard and crunchy, so I undercooked it just slightly, then scooped the bacon out of the pan and tossed it in with the potatoes. It finished cooking there, but maintained its proper texture and flavor. I emptied the bag of frozen corn into the pot as well and let them all cook together.
I reserved the bacon grease and dumped in a LOT of minced garlic, and the washed, peeled, and chopped scallions, onions, and leeks, then added more adobo, pepper, parsley, and whatnot to the pan over them. I sauteed everything until the yellow onions got translucent and everything else got soft, then added that into the pot with the potatoes and bacon. Then I added the quart of cream, more seasonings, stirred it all together, and let it simmer.
While it was simmering, I decided it needed to be thicker and made a roux. For a roux, all you need is equal parts flour and fat (butter, lard, drippings, shortening) and a liquid. First, you melt the butter and add the flour (I used 3 Tbs of each) stirring frantically so it doesn't burn. It's usually best to have someone helping, so they can add the liquid in and you don't have to stop stirring. I normally use the same broth for the roux as I do for the soup base, but I was out of chicken broth and just used water instead.
The first tip for a good roux is to not let anything burn, which is why constantly stirring is mandatory. The second is to add your liquid a little at a time. It's something you just kind of have to eyeball, but stick to a few tablespoons at a time, no more than a quarter cup. At first when you add the water, the flour mixture will soak it up and you'll just have more stuff to whisk around. As you keep adding more, however, you will eventually get a nice, thick liquid, a little thicker than gravy (which makes sense, considering gravy is just a roux with more liquid and seasonings).
Once the roux was finished, I stirred it into the soup itself and let the whole thing cook for about another 5 or so minutes. After that, the soup/chowder was done, ladled into bowls, and served with a nice savory bread. I suggest the rosemary bread recipe included with bread machines, but a thick rye or sourdough will also do.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-26 08:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-26 08:26 pm (UTC)And made me monkeybread.