Potage Parmentier

Inspired in the first chapter of Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell, I desired to recreate this potato leek soup... Afterall, I have a potato ricer, and few people do. You can use masher or and hand blender, but Julia Childs warns against it, as it will turn soup into "something un-French and monotonous". You want texture in this one. For more information on what Julie Powell has to say about Potage Parmentier, click on this link:
http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/30.html 
In the meantime, let's getter done! This one is simple and SOOO delicious. And nutritious!


What I had on hand:


4 baking potatoes, diced
(you may peel or not peel them... I peeled two and left the other two "as is", so that some of the nutrient rich skin would be included, but so it would still have a pale yellow tone, rather than brown.)
3 leeks, chopped, soaked in cold water for 1/2 hour, then rinsed
3 cups water
(I used 2 cups broth for extra flavor and 1 cup water)
black pepper
sea salt
butter or earth balance (if you'd like this to be vegan)


What I did:


Add potatoes, leeks, broth/water to pot, put heat on medium low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash or blend until still slightly chunky... You should be able to see bits of potatoes and onion here and there, but too much. Add a few pats of butter at the end, in small amounts and stir. YUM!


Variations:

1. The following may be simmered with the potatoes and leeks at the start:
2. sliced or diced carrots or turnips... peeled, seeded or chopped tomatoes or strained, canned tomatoes... half-cooked dried beans, peas, or lentils, including their cooking liquid.
   
   1. The following may be simmered for 10-15 minutes with the soup after it has been pureed:
      fresh or frozen diced cauliflowercucumbersbroccolilima beanspeasstring beansokrazucchinispinachcabbage diced cooked leftovers of any kind of the preceding veggies.(I ended up using up the remains of a head of red cabbage for this batch.)
      You may also use whipping cream instead of butter.
      For more information on the nutritional benefits of leeks, click any of these links:
      http://www.ehow.com/about_5076966_benefits-leeks.html
      http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=26
      http://www.indepthinfo.com/leeks/health-benefits.htm