March 13, 2013

Roasted Potato Leek Soup

dani@slyrooster.com Soups Barefoot Contessa, contest, Lars Own Crispy Onions, party, Roasted Potato Leek Soup, soup, vegetarian 6 Comments

You are cordially invited to participate in “Soup’s On!”

a contest where everyone’s a winner!

Contenders are asked to bring:

* homemade soup in a crock pot or pot

* a ladle

* the recipe

* $10

Take-home containers, salad, bread and plenty of wine will be provided.
We will all taste the soups and vote on our favorite.

The winner is awarded the prize money. Everyone goes home with containers of soup for their freezer.
Any kind of soup is “legal”–but it must be homemade.

This was the invitation that went out to about a dozen friends, some of my earliest blog-supporters, so they were well aware that they’d likely be fodder for an upcoming post.  The party concept came from my fabulous sister-in-law, Romy, who lives in Boise. As soon as I heard the idea, I knew I’d have to replicate it here on the East Coast. As a matter of fact, my mother and sister are doing the same in their respective hometowns–it’s a full-on family affair.

The idea is straight-forward and to be honest, with the timing being early March (thereby having several months of soup under our belts), I assumed that all of my friends would immediately know which recipe they’d be bringing.  As it turned out, this was not the case.  Friend after friend would check-in during the two weeks prior to contest night to share which soups they’d tested, tweaked and ruled out.  No one had a “go to” that they believed was a winner.  To my delight, the “contestants” were giving this whim their all and we were going to have some incredible soups to judge.

In preparation, I bought a dozen glass ramekins for tasting, created “Tasting Notes” sheets, made a big salad and a couple of appetizers.  I was sure to have plenty of spoons and pens, and I bought prizes for the second and third place winners.  As each guest arrived, carefully balancing their pots and special garnishes, I had them label their creation with a number and recipe title.  Once everyone was settled, it was game on!

I explained that each person was to hold onto their small bowl, spoon and “Tasting Notes.”  They could go around the kitchen to taste the soups in whatever order they chose, taking careful notes so their first, second and third place selections were clear in the end.  My guests decided that they should each “introduce” their soup, sharing ingredients, technique, and explanations for the assembled toppings.

What a bounty!  We had a wide variety of soups with no repetition and plenty of originality.

• Tuscan White Bean with Vegetables
• Tomato-Basil Crab Bisque
• Mushroom Soup with Winter Vegetables
• Cream of Pumpkin Soup
• Lentil Vegetable Soup
• Watercress-Cauliflower Soup
• Leeky Potato Soup
• Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
• Christmas Chowder, a family recipe–3rd place winner
  
• Pumpkin Curry Soup garnished with sour cream, cashews and chopped bananas–2nd place winner
  
• and the big winner…Roasted Potato Leek Soup with bragging rights going to my friend, Kristin
  

The Roasted Potato Leek Soup was from Barefoot Contessa “Back to Basics.”  It’s an incredible recipe that was pretty much the unanimous favorite among our group.  While it’s the perfect recipe to serve for company or on special occasions (or in a soup contest!), I couldn’t in good conscience serve the soup, as is, to my family on a regular basis.  And it’s that good, that I know I want it in my winter rotation.  So, I experimented a bit and replaced the original 3/4 cup heavy cream with fat-free half and half and substituted the 8 oz. creme fraiche with a cup of non-fat plain Greek yogurt.  I kept the Parmesan and crispy shallots because hey, life is short.  Enjoy!

 

One final note, if you would like the recipe for any of the other contest entries, just ask in the comments section below and I will be sure to post.