This week’s vegetarian recipe is my very own. I had another Potato Leek Soup recipe that I used before we stopped eating meat, and while that one didn’t have meat, it did have a lot of cream and butter and absolutely no high-quality protein.
This one has very little animal product (only a little Greek yogurt, which you cam omit to make the recipe vegan) and the addition of white beans gives it some much needed protein and fiber. Because everything is blended together, you won’t even know the beans are there (and trust 
me, neither will your kids – mine didn’t until I told them) and they add nice flavor while also thickening the soup.
I make a giant pot of homemade soup every Monday in the winter and we munch on it all week. This is a staple. Cheap, easy, and nutritious, it’s a great way to add a little warmth to a winter night. I serve it with an apple salad – my kids favorite – and we’re good to go.
This recipe make a ginormous pot of soup. I’d say it probably serves 10-12. You can halve it if you’re not hardcore like us and you just can’t handle all that soup.
😉
You will need;
2 tablespoons olive or grape seed oil (or you can use canola)
3-4 leeks, sliced
2-4 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic), minced
2-3 good size potatoes (white, russet, eastern – doesn’t matter!), chopped
10 cups of water
8 teaspoons of veggie broth paste (you can substitute 10 cups of ready-made vegetable broth if you want, but the pa
ste is amazing and much cheaper in the long run, plus there’s less waste/packaging)
2 small or one large can white beans (any kind is fine, although I usually use Great Northern)
1 cup Greek yogurt (omit to make vegan)
2 tablespoons tarragon, salt & pepper to taste
Halve and slice white and light green part of leeks. Saute with olive oil and a couple tablespoons of water until leeks are translucent.
Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Then add potatoes.
Cook for a couple of minutes and then add all the water and the broth paste. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft (this shouldn’t take more than10-15 minutes since the potatoes are cut somewhat small).
Add beans and yogurt (if using).
Remove from heat.
Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend until mostly smooth. You can also use a potato masher and do it by hand, although the soup won’t be as smooth (it’ll still taste good, though!).
Turn heat on simmer and add tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
I serve with a simple apple salad – greens with chopped apples and walnuts, dressed with equal parts olive oil and raspberry vinegar, a sprinkle of salt, and little ground pepper.
Enjoy!