Leek, Potato, and Bean Soup

We got a single, large leek in the box this week. Whenever I see 2-3 leeks my mind immediately goes to my vegetable broth where leeks are an important ingredient. But this was just one leek and it was going to be a busy week. We also received 1.5 pounds of Yukon potatoes and then I thought that potato-leek was a very common soup combo. So I went to work. I adapted an Alice Waters recipe in The Art of Simple Food using the ingredients I had on hand and this is was what opened tonight's meal:

Ingredients:

• 1 large leek
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 sprigs of sage (original recipe called for thyme. I happened to have some extra sage on hand so I used that instead. Be creative.)
  
• 1 large bay leaf
• Salt
• 1 pound of Yukon yellow potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Cannelli beans (I used some home-prepred beans but 1 can of commercial beans will do. More on the homemade beans later.)
  
• 5 cups water or broth (Tonight I used TJ's vegetable broth from the pantry)
  
• dried parsley as garnish
• black pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Trim off the root and green end of the leek
• Slice thinly and soak in water to clean
• Drain and dry sliced leeks
• In a medium pot melt butter and add leeks with bay leaf, herbs, and salt
• Cook for about 10 minutes until leeks are soft
• As leeks cook, peel and quarter the potatoes
• Add potatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes until coated
• Add broth (or water)
• Bring to a boil and then turn to simmer for about an hour until the potatoes are soft enough to mash on the edge of the pot with a wooden spoon
• Allow to cool, remove bay leaf, herb sprigs, and puree the soup with a hand blender
• Add cannelli beans and stir in freshly ground black pepper
• Let simmer for 10-15 minutes
• Add a pat of butter and garnish with dried parsley
  

Serve with good crusty bread and wine.