Ingredients
2 medium leeks, white part only
2 tbsp flavorless cooking oil
3 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken, broth
3 cup water
1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 sour cream
1 chopped chives
Directions
REMOVE THE ROOT END OF THE LEEKS, trim the dark green tops and
reserve for another use. Slice the light part into 1/2-inch rounds,
wash well and set aside on a plate. Heat the oil in a pot, over
medium heat, and add the leeks. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add
stock, water, potatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Raise heat to high,
cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered,
for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the soup in batches. Place
pureed soup in a pot and reheat, covered, over low heat. To serve,
place a generous dollop of sour cream in the bottom of each soup bowl
and sprinkle with chopped chives. Transfer piping hot soup to a
tureen or pitcher and pour into bowls at the table. Refrigerate soup
for up to 3 days or freeze the soup in 3-cup batches.
MICHAEL ROBERTS - PRODIGY GUEST CHEFS COOKBOOK
Servings: 6 servings
Potato Soup (Prodigy) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Soup; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Experts have proved the existence of recipes way back into antiquity, certainly as far as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Having said that, mostly, these old cook books were just very basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing meals.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a series of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel exhilarated and blissful. As we move into The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a few scripts detailing recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. He tells us how the roman meals were divided into starters, main meal and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. This early Roman chef recounts how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of many different herbs, including many that are still in use today such as bay, mint and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were a couple of cookery books which date from the 14th Century : a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, they are unconnected to the indian curry that appears on menues today, but instead accounts of the types of meals enjoyed by the nobility of the time. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us a variety of spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations was responsible for an eruption in recipe books, some of which are kept safe in private libraries. By the arrival of the 20th century, cookery books were highly popular mostly due to higher levels of literacy, people having more leisure time and being a little richer. The introduction of television brings us TV cooks and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access massive numbers of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Potato Soup (Prodigy) recipe.
