Country Potato Soup with Chives and Garlic Olive Oil

Country Potato Soup with Chives and Garlic Olive Oil

1 1/2 cups refrigerated diced red-skin potatoes or new potoates, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup chopped leak*
1 clove garlic, minced
2 14 oz cans chicken broth
6 fresh chives, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk
snipped fresh chives
garlic olive oil

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes, leek and garlic. Stir in 1 cup of the broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes (about 10 minutes if using new potatoes) or until potatoes are tender.

Using a handheld mixer, puree undrained potato mixture. (Or add potato mixture to a blender. Cover; belnd on low speed until nearly smooth, adding additional broth if necessary. Return mixture to saucepan). Add chive pieces and white peper. Whisk in remaining broth and the half-and-half. Heat through.

Top individual servings with snipped chives and some of the garlic olive oil.

Makes 6 servings


Garlic Olive Oil: In a small skillet, heat 1 clove garlic, minced, in 2 tablespoons olive oil until garlic begins to brown. Strain to remove garlic. Discard any unused oil (do not store)

Note: Use the white part of the leek plus just a little of the green top to give the soup a pleasant hint of color. To clean the leeks, remove any outer leaves that have wilted and slice the leek lengthwise in half. Holding the leek under a faucet with the root end up, rinse the leek under cold running water, lifting and separating the leaves with your fingers to allow the grit to flow down through the top of the leek. Continue rinsing until all the grit is removed.

Calories: 147
Fat: 9 g