Leek soup
Leek soup, or usually leek and potato soup, is common to the cuisines of many places. It is made from leeks and other vegetables simmered in water or stock. Potatoes are usually included, and other ingredients may include onions and garlic. The soup may be enriched with milk or cream before serving. It is usually served hot, but if chilled may form the basis of vichyssoise.
Background
Leek soup is a traditional staple of many cuisines. A 1771 reference book lists the Italian porrata, "a leek-soup or pottage". A Scottish cook, Susanna MacIver, included leek soup in her 1782 Cookery and Pastry; a Welsh version, cawl cennin – "leek pottage or porridge" – is recorded in 1794; a German-English dictionary from 1796 refers to Lauchsuppe, "leek pottage". Maria Rundell's Domestic Cookery gives a recipe for "Scotch Leek Soup", thickened with oatmeal.French leek and potato soup has the alternative names potage Parmentier and soupe à la bonne femme. Elizabeth David refers to "every French housewife's potato and leek soup". Porrusalda is a Basque leek soup, typically using the same ingredients as the versions from elsewhere. In Spain the soup is known as sopa de puerros y patatas.
Contents
Leeks are the one ingredient common to all recipes. In some recipes only the white part of the leek is used; in others, both white and green are used. Potatoes are also usually included. Cooks and food writers differ about the other ingredients.| Writer | Cooking liquid | Other ingredients | Enrichment | Garnish | Ref |
| James Beard | chicken stock | potato | butter | nutmeg, cayenne | |
| Simone Beck et al | water | potato, onion | cream | parsley or chives | |
| Mary Berry | chicken or vegetable stock | potato, onion | cream | chives or parsley | |
| Robert Carrier | chicken stock | potato | cream | chives | |
| Craig Claiborne | chicken stock | potato, onion | cream | chives | |
| Auguste Escoffier | white stock | potato | milk and butter | croutons | |
| Jane Grigson | water | potato, onion, garlic | |||
| Jeff Koehler | chicken stock or water | potato, carrot | olive oil | ||
| Prosper Montagné | stock | potato | butter | chervil | |
| Simone Ortega | water | potato | stock | ||
| Maria Rundell | water | oatmeal | |||
| Delia Smith | milk and chicken stock or water | potato, onion | cream | chives |