Leek soup

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Leek soup
Mon Plaisir, Covent Garden, London (3717184145).jpg
Leek and potato soup
TypeSoup
Place of originNumerous cuisines
Serving temperatureUsually hot
Main ingredients Leeks, potatoes, stock or water.

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.

Contents

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; [1] a German-English dictionary from 1796 refers to Lauchsuppe, "leek pottage". [2] Maria Rundell's Domestic Cookery (1808) gives a recipe for "Scotch Leek Soup", thickened with oatmeal. [3]

French leek and potato soup has the alternative names potage Parmentier (in honour of the man who popularised potatoes in France) and soupe à la bonne femme. [4] Elizabeth David (1984) refers to "every French housewife's potato and leek soup". [5] Porrusalda is a Basque leek soup, typically using the same ingredients as the versions from elsewhere. [6] In Spain the soup is known as sopa de puerros y patatas. [7]

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.

WriterCooking liquidOther ingredientsEnrichmentGarnishRef
James Beard chicken stockpotatobutternutmeg, cayenne [8]
Simone Beck et alwaterpotato, onioncreamparsley or chives [9]
Mary Berry chicken or vegetable stockpotato, onioncreamchives or parsley [10]
Robert Carrier chicken stockpotatocreamchives [11]
Craig Claiborne chicken stockpotato, onioncreamchives [12]
Auguste Escoffier white stockpotatomilk and butter croutons [13]
Jane Grigson waterpotato, onion, garlic [14]
Jeff Koehlerchicken stock or waterpotato, carrotolive oil [15]
Prosper Montagné stockpotatobutter chervil [16]
Simone Ortega waterpotatostock [7]
Maria Rundell wateroatmeal [17]
Delia Smith milk and chicken stock or waterpotato, onioncreamchives [18]

References

  1. Walters, p. 874
  2. Bailey, p. 422
  3. Rundell, p. 104
  4. "Potage Parmentier", Le Journal des Femmes. Retrieved 21 June 2025; and Escoffier, p. 259
  5. David, p. 40
  6. Koehler, p. 26
  7. 1 2 Ortega, recipe no. 125
  8. Beard, p. 368
  9. Beck et al, p. 36
  10. "Mary Berry Leek and Potato Soup Recipe", Mary Berry Recipes. Retrieved 21 June 2025
  11. Carrier, p. 57
  12. Claiborne, p. 102
  13. Escoffier, p. 259
  14. Grigson, p. 302
  15. Koehler, p. 26
  16. Montagné, p. 915
  17. Rundell, p. 104
  18. Smith, pp. 97–98

Sources

See also