Potato Leek Soup

I’m a sucker for comfort food & there’s nothing more comforting than potato soup! I made this last night & I can’t stop eating it! I’m going to make some of this soup for St. Patrick’s day too!

This makes around 6-8 nice servings.

Ingredients:
-1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
-2 leeks
-3 russet potatoes
-4 yellow potatoes
-1/3 cup finely shredded carrots (I used shoestring carrots then chopped them up a bit more)
-1 Tbs earth balance
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp (+/-) herb blend (I use a freeze dried “salad” blend that is so good)
-1 quart veggie broth
-2-3 C water
-1/3+ c nutritional yeast
-2 c unflavored almond milk

– more salt & pepper to taste
-‘bacon’ bits, chives, scallions, or parsley to garnish

Directions:
-finely chop leeks (mostly the bottom white part) and put into a water bath to rinse off all dirt & sand
-heat oil in a large pot over medium, add leeks and sauté until translucent & tender
-meanwhile, peel & dice potatoes to add into leeks when leeks are soft
-add carrots too & sauté an additional couple minutes to soften all the veggies together
-add spices and earth balance then sauté an additional minute
-pour in the stock & water, stir
-add in nutritional yeast, stir & simmer until potatoes are starting to break apart & make the soup look creamy, stirring occasionally (I cooked my soup for about two hours just because- but as long as the carrots & potatoes are soft, you can serve the soup.)
– add in almond milk and season with extra salt and pepper until desired flavor/ thickness is achieved.

-serve hot, garnished with anything you like.

*note* sometimes I will add a squeeze of lemon juice in – just a little- to brighten the flavor of the soup. It can be added to individual servings or into the whole pot- but do it slow and sample as you go so not to make the soup too lemony.

*the soup thickens in the fridge. I always add a bit of almond milk when I hear it up the next day & just stir it right in.