This is one of my favourite soups but I can’t recall if I’ve ever made it.  Give this a try.  It actually came out pretty well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 litres of veggie soup stock

2 cups water

3 leek stocks, trimmed chopped and thoroughly washed,

5 medium-small potatoes, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon each of marjoram, oregano, basil

a pinch of granulated garlic (I was out of fresh garlic otherwise I would have used a clove)

(I also added a pinch of what is called “French Herb Blend” from a nifty little portable spice case that T gave me as a gift – I suspect it’s Herbes de Provence but I can’t be sure.  Heck it could be chipped melamine for all I know but I obviously lived to tell the tale.)

lemon, a quick squeeze

salt and pepper to taste

teaspoon of chopped parsley

Chop leeks and fry in olive oil until tender.  Add spices, salt and pepper and keep stirring for a few minutes.  Add 1/2 litre soup stock, stir and let simmer a few minutes.  Add the rest of the soup stock and the potatoes.  Let simmer for about 45 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through.

Remove some of the potatoes and put the rest of the liquid into a blender.  You may have to do this in two stages.  Also be careful to not put too much of the hot soup in the blender like I did.  When I turned it on the liquid splashed out the top, knocking the lid off.  It was messy.

Pour the puree back into the pot, add the removed potatoes, lemon and simmer for another ten minutes.  Add parsley at the end.