If you’re following along with this holiday-colors themed series, then you know that today is day 2 of the 5 day green foods challenge. Today’s green food is a LEEK!

A leek is similar to the onion and belongs to the allium family. The allium family includes many of my favorite aromatics, including all of the various types of onions (yellow, white, vidalia) and garlic!

You can find other recipes with alliums by clicking here, but be sure to visit the site after you have had a chance to try MY recipe, shown below.

After I made the soup, I realized why my soup turned out green, instead of creamy and white like many of the photos I saw on Pinterest. My soup was green (a beautiful, vibrant green) because I used the entire stalk of the leek. If you choose to only use the bottom, white part, your soup will be white. I kind of found it very interesting and fun to eat green soup, and it was delicious! There’s really no reason to not eat the top, dark green part.

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP

Ingredients (makes about 3 generous servings):

• 1 leek, cut into pieces and *thoroughly washed / rinsed*
• 4 strips of bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large Idaho potato, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1.5 cups of chicken stock (you can also use water or partial water)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1-2 tablespoons of cream (optional)
• Optional: serve with crusty, grilled bread

1. Cut the bacon up into bits (but do not use bacon bits for this recipe). Fry the bacon in a pan until it is crispy. Remove the bacon bits and leave the fat in the pan. Set the bacon bits aside.

2. Cook the cubed potatoes in the bacon fat until they become slightly browned. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Add the leek pieces and stir. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes.

4. Add the chicken stock. Stir and cover. Cook until the potatoes are done, approximately 10 minutes.

5. Transfer two-thirds of the mixture to a blender (or you can use an immersion blender). Blend until chunky-smooth and return to the pot. Make sure the heat is off; add a splash of cream and stir to combine. Or, you can blend the soup to your desired consistency. Serve with toasted or grilled bread.

Watch me make this recipe here: