Below is the quickest, simplest leek and potato soup recipe. Don't discard it for its simplicity though. Not only is it packed full of flavour, but it is nutritious, quick to make and extremely economical. This is the mother of all the leek and potato recipe variants.

SERVINGS
Four main meals, six starters
PREPARATION TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
35 minutes
FREEZES?
Yes, very well

INGREDIENTS
Four medium leeks trimmed - 500 grams / 1 lb 2 oz
Two medium potatoes - 500 grams / 1 lb 2 oz
Medium onion - 1
Chicken stock, fresh or water & 2 stock cubes - 1 litre / 2 pints / 5 cups
Milk - 225 ml / ½ pint /1¼ cups
Butter - 2 tbspns
Salt - ¼ teaspoon
Pepper - ¼ teaspoon

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
Although it doesn't affect the taste, the following optional ingredients can be used to improve the presentation.
Fresh chopped chives or parsley.
Four tablespoons of cream or creme fraiche.

PREPARATION
Wash the leeks and slice off the top green parts. Remove the tough outer layer.
Chop the leeks finely. The best way to do this is to slice them lengthwise into three sections then gather the sections and chop them.
Put the copped leeks in a colander and rinse them thoroughly. This is specially important if you are using home grown leeks. Soil particles and grit is often present in the outer layers of the leeks.
Peel, top and tail and finely chop the onion.
Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes, roughly 2cm / ¾ in cubes.
If using stock cubes, dissolve them into water.

COOKING
1. Melt butter in a pan on a medium heat.

2. Turn the heat to low then add the leeks, onions and potatoes to the pan. Cook on the low heat for 10 minutes. Turn the ingredients twice whilst cooking.

3. Add the stock and milk to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened and cooked through.
Your soup is now cooked and ready to serve. The texture of the soup will be chunky.

If you prefer a less chunky texture, let the soup cool for 5 minutes and then blend for 30 seconds in a food processor. Reheat the soup until it just starts to boil and serve.
If you want to improve the presentation then add a tablespoon of cream to the centre of each bowl of soup and swirl it round gently with a fork. Sprinkle the chopped parsley or chives over the top.

SERVE WITH?
If the soup is a starter then a slice of French bread will be fine. If this is a main meal then half a baguette of several chunks of garlic bread will go down a treat.