Let’s Eat - Leek Soup with Potato, Celery, Onion, and Olive Oil

Let’s Eat — A Writer’s Guide to Cooking
I made an interesting batch of leek soup yesterday. The recipe is simpler and less colorful than the one I added a dozen or so recipes ago, but the flavor of the leek is much more prominent. This time around, I used a three-quart pan. As with the other recipe, I started with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil — although I didn’t measure, I’d say it was about half a cup, maybe a little more. Then I added water, until the pan was between one-third and one-half full. I put on the lid and started warming the mixture on low. Next, I cut two nice long healthy leeks crosswise, making the pieces about half an inch thick. I put them in the pan. Then, since we already had some sweet yellow onion sliced in the refrigerator, I cut two of the slices (they were about a quarter-inch thick) into pieces about an inch long and added those. Then I sprinkled on a little salt and a tiny bit of black pepper. As the soup-to-be continued to warm, I chopped the leafy, center-most part of our most recent celery acquisition, and then thinly sliced one more tender stalk crosswise and added that. To this I added six medium russet potatoes — washed, peeled, washed again, and sliced about a quarter of an inch thick. This raised the soup level to about an inch and a half from the top of the pan, a nice, comfortable cooking level. The liquid was good and hot by then, almost read to simmer. I added a generous dose of salt and a little more pepper, and then about a tablespoon (another uneducated guess) of sugar. The sugar in this recipe is really a key ingredient, as you’ll be able to tell by comparing the taste and smell of the soup before and after it’s added. And I briefly considered adding a little lemon juice, but decided against it. Maybe next time. I let the soup simmer about an hour, then let it sit about four hours until supper time. Much to my surprise, everyone liked it. It’s funny how hunger will impair a person’s judgment.	Also by William Michaelian POETRY Winter Poems ISBN: 978-0-9796599-0-4 52 pages. Paper. —————————— Another Song I Know ISBN: 978-0-9796599-1-1 80 pages. Paper. —————————— Cosmopsis Books San Francisco Signed copies available Main Page Author’s Note Background Notebook A Listening Thing Among the Living No Time to Cut My Hair One Hand Clapping Songs and Letters Collected Poems Early Short Stories Armenian Translations Cosmopsis Print Editions Interviews News and Reviews Highly Recommended Favorite Books & Authors Useless Information Conversation Flippantly Answered Questions E-mail & Parting Thoughts
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Let’s Eat — A Writer’s Guide to Cooking