Leek and Potato Soup

This year Santa made a fantastic book selection. He/she gets me a book each year and this year it was Quinoa 365:

Revolutionize your nutrition with Quinoa 365!

Keen what?

Pronounced 'keen wah', Quinoa is a frequently neglected and relatively unknown superfood - containing a perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids. It is gluten-free and a great source of protein. Nothing else packs a punch of nutrition quite like quinoa. Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood shows you how to add quinoa to all your favorite foods!

"We eat it because it's so nutritious and works with all of our favorite recipes!"

As you can see, I have bookmarked essentially every recipe in the book and also purchased a 3lb bag of quinoa. If you have not tried quinoa and are interested in following along with some of those bookmarked recipes then I do recommend picking up a sack at Costco. That 3lb bag of pre-rinsed quinoa cost $8.49 which is a pretty fine deal.  I promise you it's easier to make than rice!

My very first recipe from this book was the Leek & Potato Soup:

3tbsp butter (I used 1tbsp)
2 cups sliced leeks, white parts only
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes (I used whatever was in the pantry.. not yukon gold)
1/2 cup quinoa
2 cups milk or soy milk
salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove 1/2cup of the sauteed leeks and set aside.

Add the broth, potatoes and quinoa to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a summer and cook until the potatoes and quinoa are tender, about 18 minutes. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the saucepan and stir in the milk and reserved leeks. Heat on medium but do not boil. Season with salt. Remove from the heat and serve.

MY REVIEW: What a great soup! It was so thick and filling. If you're intimidated by the idea of cooking quinoa then this is a good starting recipe. There's no rinsing or straining involved - the quinoa simply goes from the bag to the pot.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was good.