Recipe: Healthy Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Well, it's now officially winter and it doesn't look like this soup queen is going to be hanging up her crown anytime soon. 

I've been making up batch after batch of soup in my Cuisine Companion lately and enjoying steaming hot bowls of homemade soup for lunch each day. Not only are they warm and comforting but all of my healthy soup recipes are also super healthy and packed with nutrients and good stuff to keep me going for the rest of the day. 

Whilst some creamy soups get a bad rap for their calorie denseness and ability to be major fat bombs, I've lightened up a classic with this Creamy Potato and Leek Soup that's low fat and gluten free but made without any funky additions! (No stomach-hating cauliflower around here, friends!)

But whilst the recipe is healthier, lower fat and lower calorie than others you'll find, you can't tell that in the slightest when you're tucking into your bowl of thick, creamy potato and leek soup. In fact, it's so good that Jesse swore I was feeding him a butter laden, fat filled concoction because there was no way something that decadent tasting was healthy - but healthy decadence is what this girl does best!

So let me share the recipe with you!  >> 

 

Healthy Creamy Potato and Leek Soup Recipe serves 4

low fat, gluten free, clean eating friendly, healthy

1 tbsp (~15g) butter or margarine 

1 leek (~100g), finely chopped

2 tsp garlic, crushed (about 2-3 cloves)

3 cups water 

650g potato, washed and peeled or unpeeled (*see notes)

2 tsp garlic and herb salt 

2 cups almond milk 

1 tbsp (20g) cornflour 

1/4 cup (60g) plain greek yogurt** (full fat, low fat or fat free all work)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh parsley and more yogurt to garnish, if desired

Stovetop Instructions:

• In a medium/large saucepan, sautee your leek and garlic with your butter/margarine and a splash of water over a medium-high heat until translucent and fragrant, stirring constantly. 
• Once you have sauteed your leek and garlic, add in your potatoes, garlic and herb salt and water and bring your mixture to a boil before covering and reducing to a simmer.
• Mix your cornstarch with about 1/4 cup of almond milk and set aside.
• Simmer until your potatoes are soft and then carefully add your soup mixture to a blender or food processor (or just use a stick mixer to save extra work!) and blend with your remaining milk and the cornflour mixture until smooth and combined.
• Put your blended soup mixture back into the pot, bringing the mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer and allowing to thicken until the soup reaches your desired thickness. 
• Once your soup has thickened to your liking, stir through your yogurt and you're ready to serve! 
• Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkle of herbs or garnish with cooked diced bacon/grated cheese or whatever you fancy! The soup can also be cooled and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. We've also frozen the soup in individual portions and it defrosted perfectly!

Cuisine Companion Instructions:

• Place your leek in the bowl, fitted with the ultrablade. Process your leek on speed 12 for 30 seconds to 1 min to finely chop, pausing and scraping down the sides inbetween to ensure everything is chopped.
• Turn on the P1 slow cooker function and add your garlic, butter and a splash of water. Saute your leek for 5 minutes (on 130C) on the P1 program without the stopper. 
• Add in your garlic, water, potato, garlic and herb salt and cook on P2 set to 100C for 20 minutes without the stopper until your potatoes are soft. 
• Mix 1/4 cup of your milk milk with your cornstarch until combined and set aside.
• Add your remaining milk and the cornstarch  mixture to soup and reset your machine, placing the stopper on top and processing your soup on speed 12 for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. 
• Using the manual function, turn your Cuisine Companion to Speed 6, Temperature 130 and Time 15 minutes, allowing your soup to thicken without the stopper until it reaches your desired thickness. You may need more/less time depending on how thick you want your soup. 
• At the end of cooking time, process your soup with your yogurt with the stopper in on speed 12 for 30 seconds. 
• Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkle of herbs or garnish with cooked diced bacon/grated cheese or whatever you fancy! The soup can also be cooled and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. We've also frozen the soup in individual portions and it defrosted perfectly!

Notes:

*We find kipfler potatoes (fingerling in the US) are the tastiest potato for this soup. I tend to not peel them, only because I like the idea of having the extra nutrients found in the skin in my soup and because our cuisine companion is strong enough to blend the soup and make it creamy without bits of potato peel. If you peel the potatoes it'll just mean you'll get a smooth creamy soup without the need for a high powered blender/food processor.

**You can also use cream cheese if you don't like/have greek yogurt.

But tell me, what one thing can't you stop making at the moment?

And what's the best lunch or dinner you've eaten this week?