Scandinavians may be some of the happiest people in the world, but boy am I glad to be African. Because the cold and I are simply not pals. I loathe but absolutely loathe winter with a passion I normally reserve for minibus taxi drivers and dentists.
About the only things that get me through it are warming traditional bredies and beefy casseroles. That along with sweet treats like ‘souskluitjies’ and ‘melkkos’. And then there is soup. I’ll happily devour it every day all winter long. A reader recently wrote to ask for my leek and potato soup recipe. Here it is. Velvety smooth and extra moreish thanks to loads of crunchy toppings.
All you need is…
1 tbs olive oil
1½ tbs butter
4 large leeks, white parts only
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 fresh bay leaf
2 x 25g sachets Ina Paarman concentrated liquid chicken stock
4 cups boiling water
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt
½ cup fresh cream
leek and potato soup topping options
rosemary
bacon
leeks
kale
Slice the leeks in half and wash them very thoroughly under running water to remove any grit. Slice leeks fine and fry along with the garlic over low heat in the olive oil and butter until soft. Take care not to brown them. Add the potatoes, bay, chicken stock, water, pepper and salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are soft. Use a stick blender to puree the soup. Return to the heat, add the cream and heat through. (Note: the salt content in this recipe was adapted for the Ina Paarman liquid stock sachets I used. If you use a different brand, taste before you add any additional salt.)
Loads of crunchy toppings elevate this leek and potato soup from everyday family fare to something fit for entertaining. For the toppings, slice the bacon and fry until crisp. Fry the rosemary leaves in the bacon fat until crisp. Dust some leek rings with cake flour and fry them in about 3cm oil until just crisp. If you want to garnish with kale chips as well, drop bits of kale leaf into the hot oil you fried the leek rings in. They take only 2-3 seconds to go crispy, so be careful not to burn the kale or it will become bitter. Also take great care when you drop the kale into the oil because it splatters like crazy!
serves
4
prep
15 min
cook
30 min
Winter 2017 events
Perdeberg’s soup and wine pairing
This winter Perdeberg Wines are taking guests on a delectable soup tasting journey with their Barrel & Hops Soup Pairing experience. Each session consists of three different flavoured hearty soups paired with three newly launched Hops & Co Craft beers and three premium wines. You can look forward to tasting:
• Their Vineyard Collection Grenache Blanc 2015 and Hops & Co Pale Ale paired with a butternut soup
• Their Vineyard Collection Malbec 2015 and Hops & Co Pilsner paired with a luxurious mushroom soup
• And finally their Dryland Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 and Hops & Co Lager paired with a rich tomato soup
Cleverly they have thought about the kids too. While you do the adult soup thing, they can indulge in Perdeberg’s special flavoured milk and marshmallow pairing! There’s strawberry milk paired with vanilla and Smartie marshmallows, chocolate milk paired with caramel marshmallows and finally banana milk paired with chocolate marshmallows.
The cost for the soup pairing is R70 per person and for the kiddie milk pairing R50 per person. Booking is essential. These pairings will be available until the end of July 2017 with a possible extension to August. For more info you can speak to Terence at 021 869 8244 or mail him on Terence@perdeberg.co.za
enjoy with
Wine is a bit like people – great suffering tends to lead to great character. As a rough-and-ready Wine 101 rule, the drier the land and the more rubbish the soil, the better the wine. Roots dig deep and yields are reduced. The result? Quality grapes that make for intense, complex wines. This is not always the case of course, I have tasted some right royal poor-condition plonkers. But as a rule of thumb, bad conditions make for good wines.
This is certainly the case with Perdeberg’s newly released Rooted Chardonnay. Dry conditions and light decomposed granite and glenrosa soils encourage the roots of these 18-year-old vines to penetrate up to 2 metres. At only 9 tonnes per hectare, yields are low. Grapes are hand selected and the wine is fermented in 500L French oak barrels after which it spends a further 8 months on the lees to increase in complexity.
On the nose there is the expected Chardonnay citrus and apple, but also a slight tropical note. Take a sip and you’ll find a fresh wine with crisp acidity nicely balancing the fruit.
Your soup sounds delicious…I must try it soon !