Creamy leek and potato soup with potato peel crisps
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
Creamy leek and potato soup with crisp potato peelings, carrot-top pesto and soft homemade potato rolls for a comforting meal.
Ingredients
For the carrot-top pesto
- green carrot tops from 1 large bunch of carrots, thoroughly washed
- 1 bunch fresh basil, including the stems
- 3 tbsp toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- 25g/1oz raw cashews or almonds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the creamy leek and potato soup
- 4 large potatoes, peeled, peelings reserved and potatoes cut into 1.5cm/⅝in pieces
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large leeks, including the green tops, cut into 1.5cm/⅝in pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger, skin on
- 1 shallot, diced
- 950ml/2lb vegetable stock
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the soft and fluffy potato rolls
- 2¼ tsp active dried yeast
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 625g/1lb 7oz plain flour or gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp salt
- 90g/3¼oz butter, at room temperature
- 270g/10oz cooked potatoes, mashed with the skins on
- vegetable oil, for greasing
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
To serve
- 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp crème fraîche
- 4 tbsp carrot-top pesto
Method
To make the carrot-top pesto, put the carrot tops, basil, seeds, nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast and 2 tbsp cold water in a food processor.
Blend on a low speed, then gradually pour in the olive oil as you increase the speed. Blend until mostly smooth and set aside.
To make the creamy leek and potato soup, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the potato skins in long, thin strips. Put the peelings in iced water for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a lined baking tray. Bake for about 7 minutes, or until crisp and golden, keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leeks, potatoes, salt and black pepper and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the bay leaf, turmeric, garlic, ginger and shallot. Cook for 3–5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
Increase the heat, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8–10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Add the lemon zest and juice, then blend with a stick blender until smooth and creamy. For a thinner soup, add a little more stock and blend again.
To make the soft and fluffy potato rolls, whisk in 300ml/10fl oz warm water, yeast and sugar together in a small bowl for about 1 minute, until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, 60g/2¼oz of the butter and the mashed potato. Knead by hand or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook until everything is incorporated and the dough feels smooth.
Shape the dough into a ball. Lightly grease the bowl with vegetable oil, return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Grease a 33x23cm/13x9in baking tin with vegetable oil and lightly dust the work surface with flour.
Knock the air out of the dough, then turn it out onto the work surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape each into a ball.
Put the dough balls in the prepared tin and leave to prove for 30–45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Melt the remaining 30g/1oz butter and brush it over the rolls. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Tap the underside of a roll – it should sound hollow. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool slightly.
To serve, divide the soup between four bowls. Top each with the potato peel crisps, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon crème fraîche and 1 tablespoon carrot-top pesto. Serve with the warm potato rolls.
