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Chowder

Smoky Potato Leek Soup

January 18, 2022 by Tamara Giebel Leave a Comment

Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.

What makes this Smoky Potato Leek Soup different from the rest?  It’s the way we cut the potatoes in a rustic farm style fashion, the addition of earthy leeks in place of onions and the serrano pepper for that Out West flare. Using a variety of potatoes adds to the texture of this soup.  Russet potatoes are standard and give the starch needed for substance, red or yellow potatoes are a nice addition to add creaminess and together create the perfect texture.

What are leeks and where do you find them? Leeks look like a pumped up green onion with a white base and long green tops. They are part of the onion family and have a sweet mild taste perfect for adding to cream based dishes and soups like this Smoky Potato Leek Soup.

Whether you pluck them out of your garden, bring them home from the farmer’s market or grocery store, you will want to rinse them thoroughly. I like to cut the white root base off and run the entire leek under water, moving the green tops around to get in all the nooks and crannies.

What if I can’t find one of the recipe ingredients? The last step of this recipe is to stir in a container of Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese. This may not be available in your neck of the woods and that is totally fine. You can make this soup without it or stir in about a 1/4 cup of cream cheese and a little more serrano pepper to keep the spice ratio correct.

Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese

You may already know about Alouette Spreadable Cheese for creating snacks and appetizers, but use it in cream based soups for added flavor and creaminess. I came across the Smoky Jalapeno flavor at my local Target and was hooked. It combines charcoal smoked onions, spicy jalapenos and cilantro for a very Out West kind of flavor.

Ingredients in Smoky Potato Leek Soup

  • Bacon – Thick cut smoked bacon, cut into lardons (1/4 inch slices)
  • Leeks – Similar to an onion with the appearance of an oversized green onion / scallion.
  • Garlic – Minced garlic. I keep a jar in my refrigerator.
  • Serrano Pepper – Similar to a jalapeno, only long and slender with more flavor.
  • White Wine – Inexpensive white wine or cooking sherry.
  • Potatoes – I use a variety of red, yellow and russet potatoes for the perfect texture.
  • Chicken Broth – Better Than Bouillon is always on hand at my house.
  • Liquid Smoke – A little goes a long way, a drop or two adds a hint of smokiness.
  • Heavy Cream – Whipping cream, heavy whipping cream are other names.
  • Mustard Powder – Yellow mustard powder for a depth of flavor.
  • Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese – Spreadable cheese, can sub cream cheese and jalapeno pepper.
  • Other – Butter, milk, salt and pepper

Related Recipes

  • Black Eyed Pea Soup with smoked ham and collard greens in a flavorful broth.
    Black Eyed Pea Soup
  • Out West Clam Chowder
  • Bistro French Onion Soup with rich, flavorful beef broth and slowly caramelized onions topped with French bread croutons and gruyere cheese.
    Bistro French Onion Soup
Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.

Smoky Potato Leek Soup

Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Soups, Stews, Chowders
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 4 slices thick cut bacon cut into lardons
  • 2 cups leeks halved, then thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp. serrano pepper minced
  • 1/4 cup sherry or white wine
  • 6 cups variety of red, yellow, russet potatoes 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 6-8 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Tbsp. mustard powder
  • 1 3.25 oz container Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese

Roux

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 4 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Render bacon lardons in large soup pot over medium low heat until nearly crisp. Remove from pot and set aside.
  • Increase heat to medium and add leek, garlic and serrano pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
  • Add sherry or white wine and salt and pepper. Let sherry do it's thing for about 2 minutes.
  • Add potatoes and enough chicken broth to cover potatoes. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, cooking until potatoes are just fork tender.
  • Make roux (recipes follows) and stir into soup making sure to keep stirring until combined well.
  • Remove about 2 cups of the soup and blend using either a blender or a hand held immersion blender. Return to soup pot.
  • Stir in mustard powder and container of Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese.
  • Serve in bowls, top with reserved crumbled bacon and more chopped leeks, if desired.

Roux

  • Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add milk and cream. Remove from heat and add immediately to soup.
Keyword Chowder, Creamy Soup

Filed Under: Soups, Stews & Chowders Tagged With: Chowder, Creamy Soup, Potato Soup, Winter Soup

Out West Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder

January 4, 2021 by Tamara Giebel Leave a Comment

Smoky, creamy, a little bit rustic and ribboned with the subtle flavor of tarragon makes this Out West Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder a Pacific Northwest favorite.

Smokey, creamy, a little bit rustic and ribboned with the subtle flavor of tarragon makes this Smoked Salmon Chowder a Pacific Northwest favorite.

The Pacific Northwest is known for seafood, rustic cuisine and well, let’s face it….RAIN. Seattle averages 38 inches annually, which means we like our chowder. We make chowder out of anything from classic manila clam, to geoduck and my favorite, this Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder.

A little bit fancier than the classic clam chowder, we add tender corn, red bell pepper and tarragon together with creamy baby red and white potatoes. Tarragon is a French herb that adds a distinct flavor and pairs so nicely with seafood. It also is known to be a powerful antioxidant that can boost your immune system. Perfect for the winter season.

Ingredients

  • Smoked Salmon – You want the hot smoked salmon as opposed to the cold smoked salmon. It is cured, then cooked with heated wood smoke.
  • Corn – Fresh off the cob is best, frozen would be the next best choice.
  • Potato – Red and white baby new potatoes are best for this dish.
  • White Cooking Wine – Just a simple white wine.
  • Tarragon – My favorite herb to add to seafood dishes giving a light licorice flavor like fennel or anise.
  • Paprika – For color and a little spice.
  • Cream – Heavy cream, sometimes called whipping cream.
  • Chicken Broth – If you have seafood broth, use that, but chicken broth works just as well. I like Better Than Bouillon brand.
  • Red Bell Pepper, Shallot & Celery – Add to the overall flavor.
  • Flour & Butter – Combine to make a roux to thicken the chowder.

If you LOVE seafood, try this OUT WEST favorite FARM STYLE CLAM CHOWDER using fresh clams

This rustic, Farm Style Clam Chowder combines fresh manila clams, sliced baby potatoes, a splash of sherry, cream, tarragon and smokey bacon.

Preparation

  1. Sauté celery, shallot and red bell pepper in one tablespoon butter over medium high heat until just softened.
  2. Add white cooking wine and sauté an additional 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add potatoes and chicken broth, simmer about 10 minutes until tender.
  4. In a separate sauce pan, melt two tablespoons butter over medium heat and stir in flour to create a roux. Turn heat to low and add two ladles of chicken broth from the potato mixture into the roux. Stir quickly and combine with potato mixture.
  5. Stir in smoked salmon, corn, cream, tarragon, paprika, salt and pepper.
  6. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve with crusty French bread.
Smoky, creamy, a little bit rustic and ribboned with the subtle flavor of tarragon makes this Smoked Salmon Chowder a Pacific Northwest favorite.
Print Pin

Out West Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder

Smokey, creamy, a little bit rustic and ribboned with the subtle flavor of tarragon makes this Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder a Pacific Northwest favorite.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine PNW, Seafood, Soups, Stews, Chowders
Keyword Chowder
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp butter
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • ½ cup celery diced
  • ½ cup shallot diced
  • ½ cup red bell pepper diced
  • ½ cup white cooking wine
  • 1 ½ cups red and white baby potatoes sliced in rounds
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • ½ lb smoked salmon roughly broken into pieces
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cup cream
  • 2 tsp tarragon dried
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add celery, shallot and red bell pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add white cooking wine and cook another 1-2 minutes.
  • Add potatoes and chicken broth, simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. While potatoes are cooking, make roux.
  • Roux: In a small saucepan heat 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat until melted. Add flour and stir constantly until smooth. Turn heat to very low. Using a ladle, spoon 2 ladles of broth from potatoes into roux and stir quickly and remove from heat.
  • Immediately stir roux into chowder mixture, stirring until combined.
  • Add smoked salmon, corn, cream, tarragon, paprika and salt and pepper and stir until combined.
  • Simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring regularly. More is better so the flavors combine and next day is even better.

More Soups, Stews & Chowders

Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots easy to make, it’s easy on the budget too.
Out West Cowboy Chili is packed with tender steak, pinto beans and poblano peppers with a touch of liquid smoke for that campfire flavor.

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Filed Under: Pantry Meals, Seafood, Soups, Stews & Chowders Tagged With: Chowder, Pantry Meal, salmon, Seafood Chowder, Seattle Food

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OUT WEST: Food & Lifestyle is all about coastal seafood to valleys providing local farm raised meat, vegetables and cheeses. The west coast provides a bounty of fresh food and I’m excited to share it with you.. Let's dig in →

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