happy autumn food: the barefoot contessa's roasted potato leek soup

The air is just turning crisp here in Seattle. It reminds me of home, of Massachusetts, where the trees are so technicolor orange against the bright blue, sunny, clear sky that it could make you cry from the sheer beauty of it all. Today was the quintessential day for making soup.

Just before my Italian IV class started this morning I searched online for a hearty, autumn-like soup and chose this Roasted Potato Leek Soup Recipe by The Barefoot Contessa. My friend, Chloe, came by and together we peeled, laughed, chopped, talked, roasted and blended the perfect soup for a fall day. It took about two hours start to finish. There were, of course, some easier, less time consuming recipes available online that involved just boiling the potatoes but by roasting the potatoes and leeks, this recipe turned out a complex, deep, unbelievably creamy soup with texture and crunch (from the addition of bacon.)

yukon gold potatoes and leeks tossed with olive oil, pepper, salt and thyme ready for roasting

When L. walked in the door after work as the soup was simmering he said "Oh, yeah. It smells amazing in here. Wow." And that first bite? "This is good. This is very very good." Sometimes it just makes me so happy to make him happy.

We followed the recipe exactly with just a couple minor notes:

• We added fresh thyme (in addition to the olive oil, salt and pepper) to the roasted potatoes and leeks. (It made the house smell like Thanksgiving dinner!)
• We blended the potato/ leek/ chicken broth mixture in small batches in the food processor but we left plenty of texture so the soup felt hearty. 
• Before serving, we added crisp bacon and shredded cheddar cheese on top of the soup. 
• Toasted Asiago bread was the perfect accompaniment.