Potato, Leek and Blue Cheese Soup

Hi ladies!

After the veggie heaven on Sunday, I still wasn't satisfied, and while paging through the latest Fresh Living magazine, I saw a recipe for potato, leek and blue cheese soup, which looked divine! And it was easy (they recommended buying the potato and leek soup mix - and who am I to complain about not having to chop and wash leeks?)

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But you know me by now, right? Can I stick to a simple recipe? No! So I jazzed it up (only slightly) with some extra cheese (you knew that, right?) and some bacon. Now, in my humble opinion, you can add bacon to virtually anything and it makes it better, right? So this was, obviously, better. Salty, crispy little bits of bacon buried in the rich melty cheese goodness of this soup, heaven!

And without further ado, I bring you the incredible, rich, cheesy delight that is this soup!

{Image source: Ethan Anderson, Picasa}

Potato, Leek and Blue Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
1 packet potato and leek soup mix
1 triangle (100g) blue cheese
750 ml veggie stock
250 ml milk
1 tbsp blue cheese cream cheese (Simonsberg make it, and it's divine)
4-8 rashers streaky bacon
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Heat a heavy bottomed soup pot on the stove, and fry the bacon until some of the fat melts. There's no need to go mad with the bacon now, we're going to crisp it up in the oven later, this is just to get some of the porky goodness into the soup.
2. Remove the bacon, and set aside.
3. Put the garlic in the hot fat, and fry for a few seconds.
4. Add the potato and leek soup mix in, and stir in the hot fat for a bit. If it gets a bit dry, just add a little olive oil, and continue to stir for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the hot veggie stock and the milk, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through.
6. Blend to your preferred consistency (I like mine quite smooth), and return to the heat.
7. Chop the blue cheese wedge up, and add it to the soup, stirring to melt it into the soup.
8. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve hot and melty, with a tsp of blue cheese cream cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Enjoy!