Easy-Peasy Potato Soup

Thank you, Julia Child. I love this simple, easy soup and so do my kids. I recently had a morning alone with my daughter. I’m not a huge cook but I do love baking and soup-making. Having an hour to spend in the kitchen to make something yummy is delightful . . . doing it with ONLY one child makes it sublime. I’ve learned this over time – multiple kids in the kitchen leads to fights, grabbing, no-fairs, my turns! and one very frazzled mama. A 6, 7, and 8 year old squeezed around a boiling pot of water also seems a recipe for disaster. They have gotten better at taking turns, but still, to have only one child with me is a rare occurrence, I find it an utter indulgence and relish every moment of the process.

This is the recipe for Julia Child’s Potage Parmentier. What I love about this soup is that there are fun parts for the kids to all by themselves, not to mention they gobble it up and ask for it by name.

Ingredients: 2 lb potatoes, 6 cups leeks, 4-6 T butter (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup cream), 2T salt

I like cream best, but only had butter on this day.

This is double the recipe so you can easily half what I’ve written here.

1. Weigh the potatoes – good lesson and fun!

2. Wash the potatoes. Allie LOVES this part.

3. Measure 4 qt. water, also fun for the kids to do.

4. Dice potatoes (I leave the skins on).

4. Slice leeks (white and tender parts only).

5. Let all ingredients (potatoes, leeks, salt) simmer for 40 – 50 minutes until potatoes are tender. Blend with a immersion blender (so super easy and worth the investment for all sorts of soups) or transfer to a regular blender and then back to the pot.

6. Remove from heat, add 4-6 T. of butter (I like the 1/2 cup cream better but went with what I had.)

7. Serve with chopped herbs (chives or parsley) if you have them – and, fresh bread, too! My boys don’t love the soup as much as Allie does, but with a hunk of fresh bread, they gobble it up.