POTATO + LEEK + WHITE BEAN SOUP

I love soups this time of year! I've been making them like crazy lately. They're just so easy to throw together. And when it's time to clean out the fridge, I can almost always pull something together with a few stocked canned goods. They've made life a little easier around here with all the hustle and bustle over the holidays. So in comes this crazy good soup loaded with leeks, potatoes & white beans. I'm in love with leeks at the moment and used two large ones here. They add a wonderful mellow onion flavor that pairs perfectly with the other ingredients. I've made this soup a few times over the past couple of weeks and found that I love tarragon as my herb, along with savory. But don't worry, if you don't have either of these two herbs on hand, thyme and/or herbs de provence will work perfectly in their place. The latter are two herbs I always have stocked! The preferred potato to use would be red or Yukon gold. For the beans, I would stick with cannellini or great northern but chickpeas (garbanzo beans) would be ok too. If you manage to have left overs, the flavors get even better. Soup will thicken a bit after a couple of hours (here) from the potatoes which is nice (soup shown here is right after cooking and broth is thin). So gather your ingredients and get ready for a simple and flavorful soup to keep you warm and feeling your best any time of year!

Sauté your leeks, add spices and cook a minute more. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes are fork tender. And voila...soups on! It's that easy...

POTATO LEEK WHITE BEAN SOUP
Ingredients

• 3 lbs. yukon gold potatoes, cubed 1/2 inch
• 2 medium/large leeks, sliced and dirt removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water (water saute)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons each dried tarragon & savory or 1 tablespoon herbes de provence or thyme
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz.) cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil/water over medium-high. Add leeks and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in herbs and spices, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in potatoes, beans, broth and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Let cool a few minutes before serving.
Serve with topped with chopped parsley if you like and a slice of crusty bread to soak up the juices.
Serves 4 - 6
Notes:
You can change up the herbs here with what you have on hand. I really love the tarragon and savory here but starter cooks may not have them on hand so the herbs de provence and thyme will be great too!
Here is a simple guide to slicing and cleaning leeks: How To Clean Leeks