Cooperative Extension: Food & Health

• Clean the kitchen area and wash hands with soap and water.
• Scrub carrots and potatoes with a clean vegetable brush under cold running water.

Cutting and Washing Leeks

• Rinse the leek under cold water.
• Cut off the root end and the top dark green leaves. The dark green tops can be saved for making a vegetable stock. Remove any damaged outer layers.
• Cut the leek into coins. The thickness depends on what you are using the leeks for. For this soup recipe, I chose to slice them into about ¼ inch coins so they would cook faster.
• Put cut leeks into a bowl of cold water and move them around so that if there is any dirt, it falls to the bottom of the bowl and the cut leeks float to the top and stay separate.
• Once the leeks are clean, scoop the leeks out of the bowl and place them in a strainer or onto a paper towel and pat them dry. Remember, don’t pour the whole bowl of water into a strainer because the dirt is on the bottom.

Prepping and Cooking Soup

• Peel and chop carrots into ½-inch pieces and set aside.
• Peel and chop potatoes into ½-inch pieces and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, sauté the leek in butter or oil until tender.
• Add carrots, potatoes, and broth to the saucepan.
• Bring the liquid to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. A simmer is when the rapid bubbling stops and only small bubbles remain. Maintain this gentle heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
• Remove vegetables from the heat and put into a blender or food processor. Add enough cooking liquid to cover the vegetables.
• Blend until smooth, and return to the pan. Use caution when blending hot liquids.
• Stir in milk or milk alternative and pepper, and heat through.

Storage

• For safety, refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container as soon as possible, or within 2 hours, and use within 4 days.
• Leftovers can also be frozen in freezer-grade containers or bags and used within 3 to 4 months for best quality.