Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Lots of Dill

 

Before the sour cream is added, this soup is technically vegan (and with the addition of Kite Hill vegan sour cream, it can still be vegan?), but it doesn’t have to be. Use butter instead of olive oil, chicken stock instead of vegetable broth. Yogurt instead of sour cream. Want to top with some crispy cured pork situation? Sure! This soup is also excellent topped with smoked trout, sardines, or salmon. But, please, whatever you do, don’t skip the dill. Nothing can replace the dill.

YIELD — 4 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter

  • 2 pounds waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or fingerlings, sliced about ½” thick

  • 2 leeks (the whole thing!), chopped and rinsed

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 6 cups vegetable broth (or 6 cups water + 4 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon)

  • 1 large (or 2 small) bunch leafy greens, such as kale, spinach, or Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

  • 1/4 cup sour cream, plus more for serving

  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 1 cup dill, coarsely chopped

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and leeks and season with salt and pepper.

  2. Cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are bright green and have begun to sweat, 5 to 8 minutes. Add water and bouillon (or vegetable broth) and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the liquid has reduced a bit and the potatoes are basically falling apart, 30–40 minutes. With a little encouragement from your wooden (or whatever) spoon, I want you to smush the tender potatoes so that they fall apart even more (this will thicken the soup, turn it creamy and make the potatoes a nice, uneven, chunky texture).

  3. Add the greens, stirring to wilt them into the soup.

  4. Add the sour cream and vinegar and simmer another minute or so (adding the sour cream later in the cooking process keeps a “fresher” sour cream flavor and prevents any curdling). Season with salt, pepper, and maybe a little more vinegar.

  5. Ladle soup into a bowl and top with more sour cream if you’re going that route. Scatter the bowl with scallion and #lotsofdill, then grind some more black pepper over the whole thing.

soups / stews, newsletterAlison RomanNewsletterComment