Leek and Potato Soup

Preparation

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  First prepare the vegetables. Peel the onion and chop it very finely. Trim the leeks, remove the outer layer, rinse them thoroughly and slice them very finely. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small pieces.
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  Melt the butter and the oil over a low heat in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the chopped onion and sweat it for about 3 minutes, then stir in the sliced leek and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chopped potato and continue to cook gently, stirring frequently, for about another 15 minutes.
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  Pour in the hot stock. [I used homemade chicken stock from my freezer for extra flavour, but you can make it with stock cubes instead. For vegetarians, use vegetable stock rather than chicken.] Add the milk and bring to the simmer then cook very gently, stirring occasionally, for another 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are all cooked.
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  If you want a totally smooth soup, blend until all of the vegetables are pureed. If, like me, you prefer your soup to have a little texture, use a large slotted spoon to take out and reserve two spoonfuls of vegetables before blending the rest, then add the reserved vegetables back in.
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  Bring the soup back to a simmer then stir in two tablespoons of crème fraiche. Finely chop the parsley and stir that in just before serving, reserving a little to sprinkle on the top to garnish, with a little extra crème fraiche too if you like. [If you don’t have parsley then chopped chives are delicious in this soup too.]