Leek and Cremini Mushroom Soup

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A version of this recipe is featured on The Fruit Guys website.

I decided to give leeks another try this week. I've not always been a huge fan, as you can see from this post. But, I'm growing up (about time) and decided I needed to give the mighty leek another chance.

My chance came when I walked through my local farmer's market this weekend and spied a pile of leeks. Now was as good a time as any to give this a go. Right next to the leeks, I spotted some lovely cremini mushrooms for sale. I thought for a moment and knew that I could make a good soup out of these, with some little additions from my kitchen.

I chose to enhance the cremini mushroom flavor with mushroom broth. And, I used bread to thicken the soup, as I've done many times in other soups. I figured this way, the flavor of the leeks and mushrooms would really take center stage.

The soup, I must say, came out pretty tasty. It's very simple to make, since all you're really doing is cooking the cut up leeks in broth while you saute the mushrooms in oil. Not much too it, but the flavors are really nice and earthy. Very Spring-is-in-the-air type of dish.

This recipe has proven to me that I need to not be so stubborn about my likes and dislikes and at least get creative with an ingredient I had long-ago written off.

Long live the might leek.

Leek Soup

Cook’s note:  The recipe can be easily double or tripled, dependent on the amount of people you are feeding. 1 cup of leeks was the equivalent of two medium sized leeks cut into rounds.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup of leeks, cut into rounds
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 cup mushroom broth
  • ½ tablespoon minced basil leaves, or ¼ tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 slice gluten-free sandwich bread, cubed (I like Udi's)
  • 1/3 cup cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

  • Place the vegetable stock over high heat in a large saucepan.
  • Add the leeks and boil until soft, about 20 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, add the sandwich bread to the soup. It should thicken the soup right up.
  • While the leeks are cooking, sautee the cremini mushrooms in the olive oil with some salt, over medium heat until crispy.
  • Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
  • Put the soup, basil and oil from the mushroom pan into a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Serve the soup in bowls with the crispy mushrooms on top.