Fancy Potato Leek soup

I love soup and I love vichyssoise, but nobody likes cold soup in the winter. So here's a hot version from The Essentials Collection Soups. This recipes uses smoked cheese. This adds a whole new depth of richness and flavour which your guests will not expect. Read on for a few tricks to fancy up your soups for special occasions.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 large leeks, trimmed and sliced 
• 450g potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size chunks
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 of crème fraîche or yogurt
• 100g smoked firm cheese (I use smoked gouda)

Garnish

• Fresh chive
• Crusty french bread, sliced and brushed with olive oil.
• Olive oil
• Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add leeks and cook for another 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes, herbs, broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Remove bay leaf. Transfer half the soup to a blend or food processor and blend until smooth (I use a hand blender, it's easier). Return the blended soup to the pan with the rest of the soup.
4. Stir in crème fraîche and cheese and heat gently (do not boil). Ladle into bowls.
5. For the garnish, I like to broil the bread slices in the oven on both sides until golden. Then I use a sun shaped (or any other shape) cookie cutter to cut out a fancy looking crouton for the soup. Add the crouton to the soup, sprinkle with chive and freshly cracked black pepper, along with a thin drizzle of olive oil.