Homemade: Potato, Leek & Cannellini Bean Soup

I grew lots of different vegetables in my garden this summer, including potatoes and leeks, so this soup was always going to happen. What I've really enjoyed about growing a wide range of my own produce, is getting a feel for what foods are best in which season. You know, when we shop at the supermarket all the time, and fresh produce is always available [I use the word 'fresh' lightly], you can tend to lose touch with the seasonality of food and the rhythms of nature that go with eating seasonally. Anyway it wasn't planned, I just realised early on that I had leeks growing, and I had potatoes growing, and they would probably be ready for harvest around the same time. I guess that's why we have potato and leek soup!

Being a non-meat eater, I'm always keen to round out my meals with a bit of extra protein, so my version of this soup is modified to include cannellini beans. That, and because there was a tin of them in the cupboard at the time. And they're white. And it's always nice to take an idea for a recipe and modify it to suit yourself. Unless that recipe is for a Donna Hay cake or other sweet treat, in which case, don't mess with it. Anyway, here's what I did.

Potato, Leek & Cannellini Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons butter

2 leeks, thinly sliced

4 large potatoes, cut into small cubes

1 to 1.5 litre/s vegetable stock [more if you like your soup a bit thinner]

dash of nutmeg [optional]

1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

splash of milk

salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Heat the butter in a large pan over a low-medium heat. Add the leeks and cook gently for about 20 minutes. You want them to be soft, not browned.

2. Add the potato, stock and nutmeg and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until your potatoes are almost cooked. 

3. Add the cannellini beans, and cook for another few minutes until they're heated through.

4. Remove the soup from heat, then blend, either in batches in a blender or food processor or with one of those hand held blender things [which I dream of owning].

5. Return the blended soup to the pan, and reheat over low heat. Stir in parmesan cheese and milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. And you're good to go.

Notes:
I'm not convinced on adding the parmesan. It did make it quite rich. But then I kinda liked that too. You could also add pouring cream at the end instead of the parmesan and milk. Or you could not blend it up and leave it chunky.

This makes a pretty thick soup. It's strange because I tend to think of this as more of a winter soup, yet I'm making it in late summer. I guess it's really an autumn/fall soup. It feels like autumn here already so it fits. I love seasonal eating!