Potato Leek Soup

(Mollie Katzen version, via Natural Roots Farm)

3 fist-sized potatoes, cut in 1” chunks
3 cups chopped leeks
1 stalk celery, chopped (or some celeriac)
2 large carrots, chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup stock or water
3 cups milk
snippets of fresh herbs if you have (or dried if you don’t) – sage, thyme, and/or marjoram
freshly ground black pepper

Put potatoes, leeks, carrots and celery in a stockpot with the butter and salt, and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and coats everything. Add the stock or water and simmer until potatoes are soft. You might need to add more water. When the potatoes are tender, remove the pan from the heat, add the milk, and puree. Mollie Katzen likes it “utterly smooth”. We will often puree half and leave half chunky for textural excitement, or simply mash it all with a potato masher instead of pureeing. Then heat the soup gently again with the herbs and black pepper. Check if it needs more salt (tamari works too, and helps round out the flavors if you didn’t have stock to use). Don’t let it boil – but serve it and eat it HOT, with lots of chunks of bread for sopping up the last drops in the bowl. Yum!