creamy potato leek soup, your favorite creamy soup

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Potato Leek Soup, three of the most boring words in the English language, strung together to make something that can only be described as “better than it should be.” Here at Home Movies, we believe that cooking a soup made of potatoes, leeks, and more dill than you’re accustomed to eating is worth just as much screentime as a breakup story told over very saucy meatballs.

Maybe it’s because this potato leek soup (PLS) feels special. Unlike other potato leek soups, this one has just as much leek as potato and it never gets pureed, only simmered until ridiculously, fall-apart tender and creamy. Maybe it’s the dark leafy greens that get wilted in at the end, adding even more texture and the illusion of freshness. It could be the addition of white wine vinegar at the end of the cooking, which makes the whole thing taste almost like a pickle. But honestly, I’m willing to bet it’s either the heavy-handed sprinkle of scallions (that make it taste almost like a baked potato) impossible amount of dill (again, see: tastes like a pickle), or maybe the repeated dollops of sour cream that go both into and on top of the soup, thus, making it extra creamy.

Whatever it is, even if you don’t think you do, you want this soup. You want to eat it on its own or with slabs of crusty bread to dunk, you want to eat it topped with tinned sardines or smoked trout to make it feel more like dinner, you want to sprinkle crisped-up crumbled sausage over it because pork and potatoes and leeks taste amazing together. You want this soup!

PLS and Thank You!

CLICK HERE for a printable/savable version.

CREAMY POTATO LEEK SOUP WITH LOTS OF DILL

Serves 4

Before the sour cream is added, this soup is technically vegan (and with the addition of Kite Hill vegan sour cream, it can still be vegan?), but it doesn’t have to be. Use butter instead of olive oil, chicken stock instead of vegetable broth. Yogurt instead of sour cream. Want to top with some crispy cured pork situation? Sure! This soup is also excellent topped with smoked trout, sardines, or salmon. But, please, whatever you do, don’t skip the dill. Nothing can replace the dill. 

2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter

2 pounds waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or fingerlings, sliced about ½” thick

2 leeks (the whole thing, white, light green and dark green parts!), rinsed and chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

6 cups vegetable broth (or 6 cups water + 4 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon) 

1 large (or 2 small) bunch leafy greens, such as kale, spinach, or Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces 

1/4 cup sour cream, plus more for serving 

1-2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

4 scallions, thinly sliced 

1 cup dill, coarsely chopped, plus more if you want to go there

1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and leeks and season with salt and pepper. 

2. Cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are bright green and have begun to sweat, 5 to 8 minutes.  Add water and bouillon (or vegetable broth) and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the liquid has reduced a bit and the potatoes are basically falling apart 30–40 minutes. With a little encouragement from your wooden (or whatever) spoon, I want you to smush the tender potatoes so that they fall apart even more (this will thicken the soup, turn it creamy and make the potatoes a nice, uneven, chunky texture). 

3. Add the greens, stirring to wilt them into the soup.

4. Add the sour cream and vinegar and simmer another minute or so (adding the sour cream later in the cooking process keeps a “fresher” sour cream flavor and prevents any curdling). Season with salt, pepper, and maybe a little more vinegar.

5. Ladle soup into a bowl and top with more sour cream if you’re going that route. Scatter the bowl with scallion and #lotsofdill, then grind some more black pepper over the whole thing.

don’t forget to pose w your dill and matching dill bracelet

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