Lloyd’s Lunch Recipe - Leek and Potato Soup

A couple of years ago I noticed some self sown plants in my back yard which I guessed was in the onion family. When I tried a leaf in a dish I discerned a very strong garlic flavour. But when the plants died down I saw the bulb was only a single one and not divided many times as a garlic clove is.

Last fortnight or so, a friend came to visit who started taking photos of various plants in my wild garden. She explained she had an ‘App’ that could identify various plants, Immediately I asked her to photograph the ‘onion/garlic’ plant. Up came the result which said ‘Wild Leek’.

Next day I asked my friend Honey McCoy who is the local environmentalist for her opinion on the App. She said Norfolk used to have quite a few wild leek plants but it is rarely seen these days so that she thought they were now extinct on the island, and became quite excited at what the app. had identified. Honey said in days past, they seemed to spread out from Rocky Point (where I live).

I looked up wild leeks on the internet and found many dishes made with leeks, which can be a substitute for any onion, shallot or garlic. A side dish sautéed in butter sounds good. But the one I was amused at was ‘Leek Vodka’ made in Kane, America (of course) in Pennsylvania. Foraging growing notes said, a strong garlic flavour was the giveaway of a ‘wild leek’; & to only use one leaf per plant; as it took well over a year to grow from seed in the ground to fully matured plants. Bulbs & roots are easily damaged: Maybe that’s why the wild ones started disappearing on Norfolk Island.

However, here is a leek soup recipe similar to one I made as a school girl – nice to have on a winter's night.

Leek and potato soup

Ingredients

Leeks 3-6 or more

1 Onion and garlic if want

2-3 potatoes or more,

Stock made with vegetables only, or meats as chicken or mutton or beef or fish

Milk and cream

Spices as nutmeg, and mustard powder or grains

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Method

Peel and chop the potatoes,

Clean/wash the leeks carefully from dirt often at base of leaves and root zome

Place in a large saucepan with enough stock to cover the vegetables,

Add spices, then cook moderately slowly

When vegetables are cooked, add a little milk, the salt and pepper and puree all

Last add cream to thicken to desired consistency

Heat if necessary to rewarm

Add finely chopped parsley on top of soup to decorate, in a plate

Serve hot with toast.

A S