Project 274: Potato Leek Soup

Soup is one of my all-time favorite food groups. Soup can be put together in no time, is limited only by your imagination and what's on hand in the pantry and refrigerator, and is satisfying and comforting. Pair with a hunk of bread, some cheese, and a hot mug of tea and I'm all set. Grab a large leek, half a large onion, a few potatoes and you have soup.
For this soup, I cleaned and chopped a large leek, diced half a large onion, peeled and cubed one medium-sized Russet potato and two medium-sized red-skinned potatoes. I drizzled about three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into my soup pot and sweated the vegetables for about 5-6 minutes on medium-high heat. I then added a quart of hot chicken stock. You can also use water or vegetable stock. This day I used chicken stock. I added kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and let this come to a boil. I then lowered the heat slightly and let the soup simmer until the potatoes are just tender. I turned off the heat, then took a potato masher to the whole pot for about two full minutes. I wasn't going for a creamed soup, I like the texture of the vegetables. But I didn't want bite-sized pieces of anything.
I then seasoned the pot with a shake of dried savory, a shake of dried thyme, and a shake of celery salt, stirred in a cup of milk and lunch was served.