Recipe - Carrot-Leek Soup With Thyme

6 cup Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoon Light olive oil
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1 One half pound Carrots; cut or sliced up 1/4" thick
Salt and pepper
One half pound Potatoes; peeled and cut or sliced up
1 lg Leek; white part only
2 Cloves garlic; minced
One half teaspoon Dried thyme
2 tablespoon Heavy cream; OPTIONAL
Gruyere cheese; grated
1 tablespoon Fresh thyme; chopped

Make the stock and keep it warm over low heat.

Heat 1 T. of the olive oil and butter in a soup pot; add the carrots, 1/2
tsp. salt and a pinch of pepper. Saute over medium heat until the carrots
begin to glisten and release their juices, about 10 minutes. A 1 c. stock,
stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen the sugars. A 3 more
cups of the stock and the potatoes; bring the soup to a gentle boil, reduce
heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until the carrots are very
tender. Add 2 more cups of stock and puree in a blender or food processor
until smooth. Return to the pot and cook over low heat.

While the soup is cooking, cut leek in half lengthwise, wash and thinly
slice. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a saute pan and add the leeks, garlic, 1/2
tsp. salt, dried thyme and a pinch of pepper. Cover and cook over medium
heat until the leeks are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. (The water on the washed
leeks will help to wilt them.)

Add the leeks to the carrot puree and cook, uncovered, over low heat for
another 30 minutes. Add cream if you're using it and season with salt and a
few pinches of pepper to taste. Garnish each serving with Gruyere cheese
and sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Make 9 to 10 cups.

TIP: If the flavor of the carrots is lacking, add a sweet potato to the
soup to sweeten and bring out the flavors.

NOTE: "Make this smooth, light soup in the spring with sweet carrots and
tender, pale green leeks. It's the carrots that make this soup delicious,
so use the most flavorful ones you can find."

Recipe by: Fields of Greens Annie Somerville

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #898 by KSBAUM@aol.com on Nov 10, 1997