Leek & Potato Soup w/ Browned Butter & Garlic Oil

Leak and potato soup has a reputation for being a bit …basic. Kinda bland - sometimes even gluey, it’s never struck me as the sort of recipe I’d chuck into a cookbook. That is, until this winter, when it got so cold, rainy and gloomy outside and I realised all I actually wanted was a L&P soup. But - a good one. One with actual flavour, a bit of a kick and a lot of cheese. This is that soup.

Leek & Potato Soup w/ Browned Butter & Garlic Oil

Serves 6

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter

4 leeks, sliced into rings

4 stock cubes dissolved in 2 litres of water

1 kg potato (about 4 large potatoes), peeled and cubed

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

3/4 cup pouring cream

80g finely grated pecorino cheese (plus extra, to serve)

1 Tbsp cracked black pepper

For the garlic infused oil

2/3 cup olive oil

12 garlic cloves, finely sliced

Peel of 2 lemons, sliced into thin matchsticks

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely diced

4 long red chillies, finely sliced*

Method

Put the butter in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Wait until the butter turns a deep caramel colour and smells nutty and rich, then add the chopped leeks. Fry on moderate heat, stirring occasionally until the leeks turn translucent and very, very soft.

Add the stock, water and potatoes to the leeks. Cook on moderate heat with the lid off until the potatoes are very soft. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Add the mustard powder, salt, brown sugar and cream and blend with a stick blender until the soup is very smooth. Return soup to the heat and bring to a gentle boil, then add the pecorino cheese and black pepper. Allow to reduce until the soup has reached your preferred thickness.

To make the chilli oil, put all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil until the chillies are sizzling and the lemon peel has started to curl and brown slightly. The herbs, garlic, peel and chilli should be very fragrant. Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl.

To serve, dish the soup into bowls, top with a drizzle of the garlic infused oil (plus bits of the fried chilli, garlic, lemon and rosemary), and grate over a little extra cheese.

* Note: if you don’t like your food too spicy, swap out the 4 red chillies in the garlic infused oil and replace with 1 finely diced spring onion

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