Karin's Week Thirty-Nine Recipe: Potage Parmentier

I know I've been rather lax in posting lately, but I've been spending oodles of time on the computer due to some work deadlines.  Which are now over with. The result is lots of postings all together, and an easy to make recipe that is perfect for a cool fall day.  This recipe comes from one of my Julia Child cookbooks, hence the French name for Potato and Leek Soup. It is actually the very first recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Potage Parmentier

3-4c or 1lb potatoes, peeled and sliced or diced
3c or 1lb leeks, thinly sliced (or you can use yellow onions if you don't have leeks)
2qt water
1T salt
4-6T heavy cream or 2-3T softened butter
2-3 T minced parsley or chives

Place everything into a 3-4qt saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer partially covered for 40-50 minutes. Mash the veggies in the soup or put through a food mill - I used my stick blender. *You can make this ahead of time to this point and then just bring it back to a simmer before eating.* Just before serving, stir in the cream by spoonfuls. Fold in parsley.

This was unbelievably easy to make. Put everything in a pot and forget it until the timer goes off. A great way to cook lunch. This was very tasty and filling. We had 3 pieces of leftover bacon (I know you are wondering how does one have leftover bacon? It's a bit of a story, but we did.) so Nate crumbled them up on top of our bowls of soup. I liked it just fine with out the bacon, but he thought it needed a bit more. Either way, simple and easy and very tasty.