"What's For Dinner?" Wednesday

It's Wednesday, the middle of the week and the weekend is now in sight. I don't know about anyone else, but by Wednesday I'm exhausted, and the last thing I want to do is go home and prepare a fancy feast, so welcome to the first edition of "What's For Dinner?" Wednesdays. Every Wednesday I'm going to post a simple, quick, dinner recipe.

On a rainy, cool day like today, I love to just curl up in my pajamas and enjoy a nice big bowl of soup. I developed this recipe while I was working for The Compliments Culinary Centre, and it was used in an edition of the Sobey's Inspired magazine. This soup is quite hearty and can be an accompaniment to a meal or paired with some nice crusty bread to make it a complete meal.

photo courtesy of www.compliments.ca

Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Makes 6 large portions

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 leeks, the white parts, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 4 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into medium sized cubes
• 1 carton (900 ml) of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup of cream (or milk if preferred)

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and saute the leeks, garlic and thyme until softened, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and let reduce by half.
2.Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until smooth, add the cream and re-heat.
4. Season with salt and pepper and serve.