Creamy Leek, Potato, and Cauliflower Soup with Savory: Humble Comfort for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

More and more I appreciate the beauty of simplicity in things. Like in a bowl of soup. There are plenty of elaborate soups in the world, many of which I make and love--but sometimes I just want the humble comfort of a bowl of leek and potato soup--maybe with a couple of simple additions to change it up a little. 

I had a head of cauliflower that I was going to rice this week but didn't get around to it and I decided to add it to the soup pot. Cauliflower has less calories and carbohydrates than potatoes and contains vitamin C as well as folate and vitamin K, making it a good addition. The local herb section of my grocery story had bunches of savory and since I have not cooked with it a lot, I used it in place of the rosemary or thyme I was going to add to the soup for flavor. Those changes and a little celery salt--one of my new favorite ingredients from the spice shelf--give the soup a few unique touches but don't take away from it's simplicity.

Creamy Leek, Potato & Cauliflower Soup
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 8)

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 medium-large leeks, white & light green, cleaned
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into small florets
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3/4-inch cubes
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp celery salt
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh savory (or rosemary or thyme)
7 cups good, light vegetable broth
1 cup coconut or other alternative milk or cream 
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks and celery and stir to coat with the olive oil. reduce heat to low, cover pot and cook for about 10 minutes until leeks are softened--stirring occasionally and making sure that leeks do not brown. Add cauliflower, potato, dried parsley, celery salt, bay leaf and savory sprigs and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently until herbs are fragrant. 

Add broth and bring soup to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until potato and cauliflower are cooked through and tender. Remove bay leaves and savory sprigs--reserving savory sprigs and removing the smaller leaves to add back to the soup if desired.
 
Add about half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (Be careful blending hot liquids--do in batches depending on blender size.) Add blended soup and the cup of coconut milk back to soup pot, stirring until blended. (Alternatively, you can blend all of the soup in batches or use an immersion blender in the soup pot to get the soup to your desired consistency.)

Taste for seasoning and add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Notes/Results: Such a simple but delicious soup with a wonderfully silky, creamy texture. The savory was similar to thyme or marjoram but just a bit different and it added lovely flavor along with the celery seed and bay leaf. You could leave out the coconut milk or another non-dairy milk, or even cream but it adds to the silkiness of the texture and the richness of the soup. I liked having the soup half blended and it makes it more interesting and satisfying than fully pureeing it. I ate two bowls and look forward to noshing on it this week. I would happily make it again.  

We have some good friends with delicious dishes waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen from last week--let's have a look!

Debra of Eliot's Eats made Mediterranean Rice Salad and said, "I’m still in love with my rice cooker and although we fell off the diet wagon a bit on a recent trip to Houston, we are back at the rice bowl diet. This recipe marks the first time I tried cooking the rice in broth and other flavors.   Even if you don’t continue on with the recipe, the combination of the garlic and celery seed with the rice is delicious as a side."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a recipe for one of her favorites; Corn and Black Bean Salad. She said, "This is a good side salad and goes well with quesadillas or grilled foods. It's served cold but if you left the tomatoes out, heated the mixture just a bit and then add the tomatoes back in, that would be good too."

Kim of Stirring the Pot made A Simple Carrot Soup from Heidi Swanson and said, "The color orange is sunny and appealing. It reminds me of all things bright and happy. It's for that very reason I find carrot soup so appealing. For years now, I've had my eye on carrot soup. I knew I wanted to make it, but I just couldn't find the right recipe. Until now."

Finally here at Kahakai Kitchen I made a variation of a Heidi Swanson Pasta Salad; Israeli Couscous with Capers, Egg and Hazelnuts. It turned out to be such a great combination of ingredients, textures and flavors--and did I mention capers?! It made me happy to look at it and even happier to eat it.

Mahalo to everyone who joined in this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!