Potage Parmentier
Leek and Potato Potage
Leeks and potatoes, slowly softened in butter, then simmered and blended until velvety. This is probably the soup French families make most often, and the one to learn first.
Equipment: Large pot, immersion blender
Contains: milk. Always check the labels of store-bought ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 medium leeks, white and light green parts (about 1 lb / 450 g trimmed)
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 medium)
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) unsalted butter
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, homemade (see Homemade Broth) or store-bought low-sodium
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Instructions
- Halve the leeks lengthwise and rinse them under running water, fanning the layers to wash out any sand. Slice them 1/2 inch thick. Thinly slice the onion. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes.
- Melt the butter in the pot over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and onion with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.
- Add the potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, skim, then cover partly and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes crush easily.
- Remove the pot from the heat and purée with an immersion blender until very smooth (using a countertop blender? Read Blending Hot Soup Safely first).
- Stir in the milk and warm over low heat without boiling. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a swirl of cream and the chives.
Olivier's tip
Cook the leeks slowly: their sweetness is the whole flavor of the soup. Do not over-blend potatoes, or they turn gluey: stop as soon as the soup is smooth.
A word from Paris
In French cooking, “Parmentier” means potatoes are involved. The name honors Antoine Parmentier, the 18th-century scientist who convinced the French to eat potatoes. Visitors still leave potatoes on his grave in Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
French word of the day
potage
poh-TAHZH
a smooth, thick soup (from “pot”)
