Colm O'Gorman: Comforting leek, potato and cheddar soup with crusty bread
I have paired this bread recipe with another, for a lovely leek, potato and cheese soup.
One of the few constants in life is change. It is sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes sad, but it is often the heralder of new, exciting things.
As I get older, I find myself embracing change more than ever. Change creates momentum, making space for something new, something yet to be discovered.
After more than four years of writing this column, it is time for change. After almost three hundred recipes, this will be my final column in this series.
I have loved every moment of developing, cooking and sharing these recipes with you, and I am so very grateful for the experience, and to you dear readers for all your support, feedback and encouragement. It has been a joy.
For my final column, I thought it might be good to give a nod back to how it all started.
The first few recipes featured here were developed during the pandemic when, to offer people something to look forward to each day, I started sharing recipes on social media.
The response was amazing, with people from all over the country and from around the world following along, cooking with me, sharing ideas and making connections at a time when we were otherwise very isolated from each other.
It was a beautiful demonstration of how food can bring us together, helping us to find common connection even when we are very far apart.
One of the very first of those recipes to go viral (no pun intended) was my recipe for crusty ‘no knead bread’. This recipe takes just minutes to prepare and is pretty much foolproof.
Baking bread does not get simpler than this. If you have felt in any way daunted at the thoughts of baking your own bread, give this a go. I promise that you will not regret it.
I have paired this bread recipe with another, for a lovely leek, potato and cheese soup.
The soup takes about thirty minutes to prepare and cook, so you can make it when your bread has about fifteen minutes left to bake, and it will be ready to serve when your bread has cooled enough to slice.
Leek, Potato and Cheddar Soup with Crusty Bread
I have paired this bread recipe with another, for a lovely leek, potato and cheese soup.
Servings
6Preparation Time
1 hours 25 minsCooking Time
60 minsTotal Time
2 hours 25 minsCourse
SideIngredients
‘No Knead’ Crusty Bread
- 360ml warm water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 7g dried yeast
- 400g strong white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 7g dried yeast
Leek, Potato and Cheddar Soup
- 2 leeks
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 600g potatoes
- 1 parsnip
- 40g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- A good grind of black pepper
- 50g grated mature cheddar cheese
To Serve
- Crispy grilled bacon, 1 slice per serving
- More grated mature cheddar
- Some chopped spring onions
Method
Dissolve the sugar in the warm water in a bowl or jug. Add the yeast and allow it to dissolve and activate. You will know it’s ready when it froths up on the top of the water.
Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. When the yeast mixture is frothy, pour it into the flour and stir well to make your dough. This will be a very wet dough, so do not be alarmed if it looks very sticky, it is meant to be. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to proof in a warm place for one hour, it will roughly double in size in that time.
When the dough has been proofing for about thirty minutes, preheat your oven to 220 Celsius. Put a cast iron casserole in the oven and heat that up at the same time.
After one hour, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Again, it will be very wet – do not freak out - it is meant to be. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold the dough it back on itself about four times to form a round loaf. Line a bowl with grease proof paper and carefully pop the dough into the bowl, seam side down. Cover with a towel and let it rest for fifteen minutes.
After fifteen minutes, carefully take your casserole dish out of the oven, it will be very hot. Use the edges of the paper to lift the dough out of the bowl and drop it, still in the paper, into the dish. Cover and put it back in the oven. Bake for thirty minutes.
Once you have put the bread into the oven to bake, prepare the soup.
Trim and slice the leeks. Wash them thoroughly in a colander under running cold water. Peel and slice the onions, peel and mince the garlic.
Peel the potatoes and the parsnip and cut them into two-centimetre sized chunks.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Once the butter begins to foam, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened, then add the garlic, the leeks and the grated nutmeg. Cook for another five minutes, stirring regularly until the leeks have softened.
Add the chopped potatoes and parsnips to the pan and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and add the salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir, pop on the lid and let the soup simmer for fifteen minutes until the potatoes and parsnips cooked through and soft.
After your bread has been baking for thirty minutes, remove the lid and bake for another fifteen minutes to get the crust nice and golden. Transfer the baked loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool a little.
Use a potato masher to break up the potatoes until you have a nice chunky soup. If you prefer a very smooth soup, use a blender to whizz it until smooth.
Stir in the grated cheddar until it is melted. Taste, adding more black pepper or salt if required.
Grill some bacon until crispy and cut into small pieces. Grate more cheddar and chop a few spring onions.
Serve the soup with grated cheddar, crispy bacon and chopped spring onion on top, with the freshly baked crusty bread, and of course lots of butter, on the side.
