I have to admit, I am not much of a potato guy. Put a loaded baked potato in front of me, and I will not give it a second look. If I am ordering French fries with my burger, they better be shoestring potatoes and crispy, or I will pass them by. So, when I visited the Brothers Red Barn Restaurant in the Santa Ynez Valley near Solvang, I surprised myself by ordering the Potato Leek soup. Our awesome server highly recommended it. So I let myself get talked into it (I am, after all, a soup guy). I was not let down. The soup absolutely exceeded my expectations. It was creamy, savory, and just plain delicious! And as always, I tend to want to make my own version of a dish that I enjoy at the restaurants I visit. Let’s talk about my recipe!

**The potato leek soup at the Red Barn**

Let’s Talk About the Details

Hint #1 Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes?

Is the type of potato important? Yes! Use Yukon Gold potatoes. They are less starchy and more waxy/dense. Yukon Golds hold their structure better when boiled and produce a creamy, smooth texture when blended, whereas high-starch Russets can turn gummy.

Hint #2 Blender, Immersion Blender, or Ricer? How to handle the potatoes

I have always heard not to blend your potatoes when making potato soup because they can become gummy. Use a ricer, and you will have a smoother and better-tasting soup. On the day I was making my soup, I was not in the mood for having to spend all that extra time and effort ricing my potatoes. I decided to do my own test and used an immersion blender instead. I was definitely happy with the result. No gummy soup!

Using the Yukon Gold potatoes together with the immersion blender worked like a dream, producing a smooth and creamy potato soup.

Hint #3 What Garnishes Should I Use?

Potato leek soup is delicious even without a lot of garnishes. However, at a minimum, use some chopped green onions or chives. Everyone has heard of the dynamic duo of potato and chives. Since I am a bacon lover, I think you should add some chopped bacon, pancetta, or guanciale to your soup. Just remember to adjust the amount of salt you add at the end because the type of bacon you use can be a little salty.

**Options: Chives, Crispy Shallots, Shredded cheese, Green onions, Chili Crisp, Diced and whole Guanciale**

If you are lucky enough to have some leftover soup, be adventurous and try some of the additional garnish options I show in the above photo. Use as little as Chives and Bacon, or use them all! You choose!

**I got a little carried away and had to experiment and use all of the garnish options**

If you love your soups as I do, check out some of my other recipes: Italian Wedding Soup, Chashu Pork Ramen, Butternut Squash-Pumpkin Soup, or Matzo Ball Soup!

Thank you for taking the time to read through my recipe. If you love your potatoes, give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed! Let me know what you think in the comment area below. As always, thanks for Spending Time In My Kitchen!

Best Potato Leek Soup

Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

–

4 – 6

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

minutes

Yield

Cups

Ingredients

3 Tbl Unsalted butter
2 Leeks, white and pale green parts only, rinse well, rough chop (approximately 5 cups)
32 Oz Low-sodium chicken/vegetable broth
3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut small dice, (approximately 1 1/2 lbs)
2 Bay leaves
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Cup Heavy cream
1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
Garnishes / Optional Ingredients
Green onions / chives
Bacon, guanciale, or pancetta lardons
Shredded cheese: Gruyere, sharp cheddar
Favorite hot sauce
Chili crisp
Crispy shallots

Directions

Cut the leeks in half. Clean and rinse the leeks
Cut leeks into small dice. Set aside.
Peel and cut potatoes into small dice. Set aside.
Place butter into a 14-inch pan over medium heat. Add diced leeks to the pan. Drizzle some salt over the leeks. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for approximately 20 – 30 minutes. Do not brown the leeks. Stir occasionally and cook until they soften.
Add potatoes and broth to a Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft and fork-tender. (Approximately 30 minutes)
Add heavy cream and buttermilk to the Dutch oven with the potatoes. Add the cooked leeks to the Dutch oven. Before blending the soup, remove the bay leaves
Use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients; ( potatoes, broth, leeks, cream and buttermilk.)
Taste the soup and add white pepper and salt to taste. (Remember, if you are adding bacon, pancetta, or guanciale, those ingredients will add salt to your soup)
Garnish / Other Optional Ingredients
Place the diced pancetta/bacon/guanciale in a small pan over medium heat and cook until the fat is rendered. Set aside to garnish each bowl.
Chop green onion and or chives and set aside to garnish each bowl.
Optional ingredients: As few as bacon and chives…or hit them all…crispy shallots, chili crisp, shredded cheese, .
Time to serve; ladle some soup into bowls. Add your favorite garnishes. and enjoy!