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My Leek and Vidalia Soup

List of Ingredients

Leek and Vidalia Soup

3 large Vidalia (or Texas sweet) onions, coarsely chopped
8-12 large leeks, cleaned thoroughly and chopped
1 pound mushrooms (optional)
2-5 dried chiles (optional)
1/4 pound butter or 3 T. olive oil (or both)
2-3 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken stock (or 2 cans)
1 quart whole milk, half and half, or skimmed evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch summer savory
Homemade croutons, if desired
Pinch paprika

Sauté vegetables in butter until soft. Stir in flour and cook a minute or two. Stir in stock. Add chiles, if using. Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Use hand-held blender to puree, if desired. Add milk and heat thoroughly. Adjust seasonings. Serve over croutons; sprinkle lightly with paprika.




Recipe

Note: Eliminating or decreasing the amount of stock and decreasing the milk makes a lovely sauce for baked chicken. I sauté the mushrooms separately and serve on top of the sauce. I sometimes add julienned sautéed red bell peppers.

This recipe may easily require more stock. Three onions and 8-10 leeks make a very thick stew rather than a soup.

To clean leeks, cut off the dark green tops--some yellow-green left on is usually O.K--and the root end. Slit the leeks lengthwise. Rinse under running water until no visible dirt remains. Believe me, this is important! There's nothing to ruin a good soup like a little sand in the bottom of the bowl.

I often make this without the Vidalias because our leek supply is practically inexhaustible during the winter. Here in Mississippi we can grow lovely leeks. The season runs from December through April or May or until they begin to shoot seed heads. Leeks multiply from the root. When Dick digs leeks, he carefully removes any immature leeks and replants them.