Leek, Apple & Thyme

This week's soup comes from a recipe I came across in the Food section of the LA Times. I grew up reading the LA Times in So. Cal. and still read it online several times a week. Granted I am focused on the Sports section but at least once a week I browse their Food section. They have a cool regular feature where readers write in asking for recipes from their favorite LA area restaurants. The Food writers somehow get the restaurants to give their recipes over and share with everyone. I like the concept of sharing recipes for free. Some might feel you're giving away trade secrets but my thinking is that sharing good recipes only enhances one's standing and reputation and draws more business. Granted some folks might stay home and eat the results of the recipes but I believe most folks enjoy going out and having the dining experience just as much. I am also much more inclined to give my business to a restaurant that shares all aspects of the dining experience which includes the preparation of the food. Those are my thoughts on the subject.

Here's Wednesday's Soup:

Leek, Apple & Thyme

7 Leeks, divided into a group of 4 and a group of 3

3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of olive oil, divided

1 large onion thinly sliced

2-3 large garlic cloves, pressed

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 Red Delicious apple, peeled, cored and diced

2 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 quart of vegetable stock

1 quart of water

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs of cilantro

1.5 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh grated nutmeg to taste

1. Remove the roots and tough outer layers of 4 of the leeks, slice them lengthwise and rinse thoroughly. There's lots of dirt in the inner layers of the first couple of leafs so be sure you work these well. Slice thinly. In a heavy bottom pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat and cook the leeks and onions until they soften. Add the garlic and cook for only one more minute, stirring the whole time.
2. Stir in the chopped apples, potatoes, water and vegetable broth. Stir in the bay leaves, cilantro and thyme leaves. Bring the mix to a boil and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Remove the bay leaves. Add the thyme and cilantro to the soup and stir. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or use a blender/food processor.
4. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
5. To make the garnish, heat an oven to 400 degrees. Clean and slice the remaining 3 leeks as was done in step 1. Toss the sliced leeks in a bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake, stirring every few minutes, until the leeks are crisp, about 10 minutes.
6. Serve the soup in bowls with the crispy leeks sprinkled on top.

Wednesday Soup At Work

So, how did Wednesday Soup At Work get started?

Over the holidays last year I read an article about finding new ways to find joy in going to work. In a roundabout way this got me to thinking about an article in Sunset magazine a couple of years ago about a woman in Berkeley that started a neighborhood soup night once a month. She hosted her neighbors with several pots of soup on the first Tuesday of every month. She gave her neighborhood an open invitation, no RSVP required. They could bring bread and beverages, she would provide the soup. It was very casual and a big success.

I tried this in my neighborhood and it failed miserably. So now back to the future, I thought about bringing soup to work on a regular basis. I love everything associated with cooking and I seem to gravitate toward soups. Looking for recipes, shopping, prepping, cooking, keeping the kitchen clean while I'm cooking, everything. So, Wednesday Soup At Work was born. Random choice was Wednesday. Hump day maybe.

The first week returning after the holiday break was the debut. I was subtle about the whole thing for the first couple of weeks. I set up the crock pot in a kitchen area with some bowls, spoons and a little sign describing the soup and its ingredients. The first week I intended to just have the soup warm up in the morning after my drive to work and open up the crock pot about 11:00 but people didn't wait and they just started serving themselves about 8:30. No one really noticed me placing the soup out the first two weeks. I watched people help themselves and listened to the comments which were all positive. It was kind of fun to listen to the inquiries about who brought the soup and why.

The third week I added my name to the sign along with a preview of the next week's soup. Build anticipation don't ya know! I was surprised by the positive reaction when folks knew it was me. I got emails, texts and visits from people I had never met before with compliments and questions about why and just to discuss cooking. It was great! I have to admit the ego boost was really nice! My wife, Bertie, mentioned that I have built an expectation for people and wondered what will happen when I stop bringing soup in.

I found out a few weeks later when I took a couple of days off with one of them being Wednesday. I had a few people mention that they were disappointed because they had come to count on Wednesday as Soup Day.

As the next few weeks went by I found myself avoiding using recipes I had brought before and searching for new and really different recipes. The internet is an amazing thing. Al Gore is a genius.

So that's how and why Wednesday Soup at Work started. I've been pretty consistent in meeting my weekly goal of soup every week. Here are some of the soups I've brought in so far in no particular order:

Chicken Tortilla a really colorful presentation with a tomato base, white hominy, yellow corn, black bean, shredded chicken and diced avocado garnish. I add a can of El Pato mexican sauce for some extra flavor.
BLT & P (Bacon, Leek, Tomato and Potato) the potatoes are thinly sliced which was a great way to use potatoes in this recipe. Of course bacon makes everything good. This is a Rachel Ray recipe, yummo.
Lemon Chicken with Spaghetti this was one of the first recipes I made that called for lemon juice. Now I frequently use some lemon juice in many recipes to add a bit of tang when it is called for. This one is from Giada De Laurentiis.
Roasted Chile Potato with Greens & Chorizo this recipe calls for hot Hungarian Wax chiles which are also called banana chiles. I always thought these large yellow chiles were the ones used for pepperocinis. Wrong. This was a really flavorful soup with the chorizo and chiles. The chard was also an unusual touch. I got this one from Rick Bayless
Black Bean salt pork and ham hocks make this soup. I make this one at home fairly often. I got this recipe from the LA Times food section. The Times has recurring feature that responds to readers' requests for recipes for popular dishes from So. Cal. restaurants. This is from Las Brisas in Laguna Beach.

I'll continue to post soups with my comments.

Later.