From a pamphlet by Sydney Markets
I was shopping at the market and walking past
a display of recipe cards when my eye caught the word ‘leeks’ and I knew I had some
leeks just desperate to be used up so I picked up the card.
The recipe was basically for a variation on a
leek and potato soup. One of my favourite soups is such a variation: a leek and
potato with chickpeas. This soup was not far different, using a can of
cannellini beans. The ‘bacon’ I had picked up when I was buying some vegetarian
‘chicken’ breasts. I guessed it wouldn’t be anything like real bacon, just a
highly salty flavoured soya bean product so expected it would work all right in
the soup.
The soup was started by sautéing two finely
chopped leeks, 2 chopped garlic cloves and some of the ‘bacon’ pieces in some
olive oil. They needed to be stirred often but after about 5 minutes they had
cooked down and softened. I now added 3 potatoes peeled and cut into pieces.
These were stirred in for a few minutes.
Four cups of stock were added with a can of
cannellini beans that had been drained and rinsed. The mixture was now brought
to the boil and then reduced to a simmer to cook for another 20 minutes with
the lid on.
A hand blender was used to puree the
soup. About ¼ cup cream was stirred in and, when it was time to eat, the soup
was gently brought back to heat for serving.
This was an easily made, full-bodied soup
with plenty of flavour. The saltiness of the ‘bacon’ meant that no extra
seasoning had to be added though a little black pepper was sprinkled on top
with a few strips of the ‘bacon’. While the cannellini beans gave it a nice
dimension, I still prefer the soup with the chickpeas.
Taste: ✔✔✔
Ease of
cooking: ✔✔✔✔
In One Word: Satisfying
