Leeky Soup

So, Cara made this amazingly delicious soup for dinner tonight, and it is a really wierd recipe, so I thought I should let all of you try it out and see if you like it. We really did! So, here it is:

Leeky Soup



What's a leek? Well, those're leeks in the photo there. They kinda taste like onions, but not nearly as strong and with a different texture. Not all grocery stores have them, but we found some at a Super Walmart near us, and that's about as mainstream as you can get.

2 leeks
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups skim milk
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup julienned deli ham
pepper to taste

To prepare the leeks, cut off the hairy rooty end, and if any of the dark green leaves are tough, take those off as well. Trim the ends of the remaining leaves, and wash them thoroughly under cold running water. Chop the leeks once in half lengthwise, and then widthwise so you have little strips about a centimeter wide and as long as half the circumference of the leek. In a medium-ish soup pot, saute the chopped leeks in the 2 tablespoons of butter for about 10 minutes.

Then, dump everything else in: the milk, broth, cheese, ham, and pepper. You can use any type of ham I suppose, we just happened to have some deli ham we needed to use up. And where the heck did the term "julienne" come from? Why don't they just say "long skinny strips"? At least I think that's what it means.... anyway, stir the whole mess up and let it simmer for 20 minutes on low, covered. The cheese and ham might clump together, so if it does, just stir it up some more. So yeah, this sounds like a wierd soup, but it's really good. Even Layla liked it.