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Potato Poblano Leek Soup

This take on potato leek soup is the ultimate comfort food, and the poblano peppers lend it an earthy, smoky quality.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: French, gluten-free, Mexican, soups, weeknight dinners, winter recipes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 cup leeks, cleaned, dark green tops removed and remaining stalk sliced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 pounds russet potatoes, about 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 cup onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, whole
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • Salt and white pepper to taste

Possible garnishes

  • Bacon
  • Cheese: queso fresco, white cheddar, parmesan…
  • Green onions or chives
  • Fresh herbs
  • Hot sauce
  • A drizzle of oil or cream
  • Croutons

Instructions

  • Melt butter in large stockpot over low heat. Add leeks and a dash of salt. Cook about 7 minutes, until leeks are tender. Stir occasionally, taking care not to let them brown.
  • Add potatoes, onions, garlic chicken stock and paprika.
  • Bring to boil, then reduce to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
  • While potatoes are cooking, char poblano pepper over a low flame on your gas burner, or under your broiler in your oven. Turn the pepper regularly so all sides are charred evenly. Seal it in a plastic and allow to cool. (The pepper will steam, allowing the skin to come off more easily.)
  • Once the pepper has cooled, rub the skin off, slice it open and remove the seeds. Dice the pepper.
  • Using an immersion blender or a standing blender, puree soup until it’s smooth. Add milk and pepper (and more salt, if desired) and give it another couple pulses.
  • Ladle into bowls and garnish with the poblanos, as well as bacon, cheese and whatever else you want. This soup requires lots of garnishment.

Notes

Once you char your poblano and remove the skin and seeds, you can put it in the soup, cook it and blend it up with the rest of the ingredients – just be warned that your soup will be slightly green. As long as you remove the seeds from the pepper, though, it won’t be too spicy, just slightly smoky.
I like white pepper in this recipe for two reasons: It doesn’t mess with the color of the soup, and its smoky flavor complements the paprika and poblano. A little extra smoked paprika will work if you don’t have white pepper.