Julia Child’s Potato & Leek Soup

Julia Child’s recipes are legendary. Unsurprisingly, flipping through the pages of her detailed instructions and pithy prose provides you ample inspiration to devote yourself to cooking. If you are fond of soups, there is nothing more mouth watering that her classic recipe for Potage Parmentier (also known as Potato and Leek Soup).

A few changes have been made in the original recipe just to add a certain spark to the dish. These amendments have resulted in immensely soothing, velvety soup that would undoubtedly make for an extraordinary first course for any French meal.

Ingredients:

  • Neutral oil (such as grape-seed or canola oil): 2 tablespoons
  • Medium Russet Potatoes: 4 to 5 or 1 pound (Peel the potatoes and roughly chop them!)
  • Vegetable Stock: 6 cups (You can also use light chicken stock)
  • Kosher Salt: to taste
  • Leeks: 3 or one pound (large, cleaned and thinly sliced)
  • Heavy Cream: 1/2 cup
  • Lemon Juice: 1 to 2 tablespoons (freshly squeezed)
  • Parsley or chives: 1/3 cup (minced)
  • Crème fraiche: 1/2 cup

Directions:

Take a large Dutch oven or stockpot and put oil into it. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add potato and leek to the oil and cook for about 8 to 12 minutes until the vegetables start to soften and turn slightly brown. Don’t forget to stir occasionally. The cooking time varies depending entirely on the surface area of your pot’s bottom.

Next, you will have to add the vegetable/chicken stock to the vegetables. Bring it to a full boil and let it simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. Again, the time might vary. Let the mixture boil until the vegetables are tender.

Blend the soup until it is smooth. You can use immersion blender for this purpose. Or, it can be done by transferring the soup to a blender and blending it in batches. After blending, add the cream to the soup and season it to taste with salt. It is recommended to start with a single teaspoon and go from there, tasting regularly. Add some lemon juice and mix it well. Ladle the soup into bowls and decorate it with crème fraiche and minced parsley.

You can make about 6 servings following this exact recipe.

Important Note: In order to make your soup more delicately flavored, you can use water instead of vegetable stock.

Comments

  1. I have a leek and potato recipe that is far more rich than this. I add green onions, a stick of butter, and garlic, but I don’t use vegetable stock. I use 2% or whole milk and heavy whipping cream. No water. I also add celery salt. It gives the soup a distinct flavor and makes the soup a great hearty meal itself, in moderation.

  2. Shaadia C says:

    Can’t wait to try this! Sounds delicious!

  3. Katherine Sheard says:

    Hi,
    My mother used to make a potato soup, that turns out had leeks in it , and it was delicious.
    The one thing I remember most, other than the fantastic taste, was that was served chilled. Can anyone tell me if it was this same soup ? I remember that they called it Vichyssoise, it was always served chilled with chives onbtop

  4. Katherine Sheard says:

    Hi,
    My mother used to make a potato soup, that turns out had leeks in it , and it was delicious.
    The one thing I remember most, other than the fantastic taste, was that was served chilled. Can anyone tell me if it was this same soup ? I remember that they called it Vichyssoise, it was always served chilled with chives on top. Thank you Very Much. Katherine

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