The Colonial Williamsburg Farm Market in Virginia offered perfect food complements to local sweet potatoes, leeks and garlic that I picked up in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The sweet potatoes I found in Hershey were of the fleshy white kind, the leeks long and pungent. I had been craving a creamy potato and leek soup, but yet hadn’t decided its direction. A trip to the Saturday market in Williamsburg proved inspirational.
Despite chillier days, the Williamsburg Farm Market had an abundance of root vegetables, dark greens, tomatoes and peppers of all varieties. I even found beautiful mushrooms. But then I saw the fresh arugula and super sweet skinny bell peppers. I now had a soup idea for after trick-or-treating with the family.
This soup whips up easily, especially if you have homemade stock at the ready. A little hot pepper flakes should warm you up, too. Delightful.
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and sliced
- 1 medium leek, halved and sliced
- 2 medium-small yams, diced
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, fresh or dried, crushed or slightly chopped
- 1 medium-small sweet bell pepper, halved and sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 cup arugula, lightly chopped and packed
- 4 cups vegetable stock (or water if you don't have it)
- 1/2 cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional red pepper flakes, or something else deliciously spicy
Instructions
- In a medium stock pot, melt the butter at medium-low heat. As it foams, add the garlic and leeks and sauté for about two minutes.
- Add the potatoes and stir. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper onto the potatoes to help them along. Cook for a few minutes, stirring a bit, then add the rosemary. Stir again to incorporate, then add the peppers. Stir to combine and let them cook for about five minutes.
- Add the dill (and the hot pepper flakes if using) and stir. Add the stock. Bring the soup to a rolling boil, then add the cream. Stir and taste. If you have seasoned your vegetable stock, or the store-bought stock is seasoned well, then you will need to adjust accordingly.
- At the rolling boil, quickly add the cream, stir and turn down the heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about seven to ten minutes.
- Add the arugula, turn off the heat, stir to combine and let it sit. Serve it with warm bread. Yum.
