Recipe: Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup

Soups always seem like a quick and easy option, but in reality there’s usually a lot more prep work than throwing two beef patties on a Foreman Grill. This potato, cabbage, and leek soup definitely took me more than half an hour of chopping, but the result was a hearty soup that can stand alone on the dinner table.

There were a few little things in the recipe I did a little differently, but the collateral damage was minimal. I used the white, pale green, and very green parts of the leeks because I thought the more leeks, the merrier! Something else turned out to be true; the more leeks, the greener the soup. There’s always a reason why my soup never turns out like the recipe photo. Sour cream was a fine substitute for the  crème fraîche, although next time I’ll have  crème fraîche on hand. The near sweet burst of flavor of crème would have set off this savory soup a little better than sour cream. I also doubt the Turkish descent of the unmarked bay leaves in my spice cabinet, but the difference in the flavor of the soup wasn’t too dramatic, especially since the bay leaf only stayed in the soup for a moment.

This recipe was far from quick, but it was definitely easy. After a certain point, all I had to worry about was bringing the pot to a boil and keep an even simmer. Ladling chunky soup into the blender is always trickier than it sounds, but surprisingly, most of my soup ended up in bowls instead of on the counter or the floor this time. Garnish and serve!

The original recipe for Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche by Maria Helm Sinskey can be found on Epicurious.com.