This was a great recipe. The only change I made was to the liquid. I used 50% chicken broth and 50% water. My guests would not stop eating it. Next time just this soup, bread and a jug of wine will be a hit. We loved it. Prep is everything. We made the soup up to the point prior to adding the cream and spinach. When the guests arrived and the time was right, we added the cream and spinach while re-heating, and served it. Wow...a hit. Thanks
I give this 4 stars only because 5 stars is the ultimate. I do really like this soup though. I was unable to resist adding a clove of garlic when sauteing the vegetables and also threw in some sliced mushrooms. Like the other reviewer I used chicken stock for 1/2 the liquid. Replacing the heavy cream with half-and-half didn't hurt the flavor at all. (Have to cut a few calories where you can.) I had never cooked with Leeks before and was a bit concerned about having an over-powering oniony flavor. Thats not a problem with this recipe. After simmering for 30 minutes the many flavors combine and mellow nicely. I'll make this again.
I've made the soup twice and guests liked it very much. It has a lovely fresh flavor. I used water only and that worked fine for me. I'll certainly make it again. (I'd say the recipe serves six at most when you serve it with salad and bread only.)
I don't believe this just has 4 stars. I've been on a soup kick this year and I've made some really great great soups from this site and this is one of them - it may be our favorite. I followed the recipe only making the change of substituting chicken broth for the water and used really fresh veggies. Mmmmmmm -I can still taste the freshness of this soup. Thanks submitter - I will be making this often during the summer when I can buy fresh locally grown vegetables.
Definately add broth instead of water. Added garlic and mushrooms. Also fresh herbs such as tarragon a little basil thyme etc. -need for flavor. I used vadilia onion instead of leaks and added a little red bell pepper for color. My husband and daughter liked it. Also used the fat free evaporated milk. Just ate leftovers for lunch -- good healthy & light
I made the recipe and found it to be bland. My boyfriend agreed. I used concentrated chicken stock to give it some body which made a huge difference and then it was delicious. Loblaws in Ontario has an amazing chicken stock called fresh concentrated chicken stock and its great-like homemade. Oh I did use milk as well instead of cream. I always do that and it always works out.
This soup is amazing! And I'm terrible at cooking soups. Made a few modifications like adding garlic to the onions & leeks. Used whole wheat couscous instead of rice as I didn't have any rice. And really wished I would have chopped up my spinach cause the leaves are very large and tend to clump together. But amazing all around!
This was very good. Like nice restaurant quality. My husband said it was out of this world. He's never said that before. I too used 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 water 3 cloves of garlic minced and some sliced mushrooms. oh yeah
Wanted to use some fresh asparagus that was given to me by a friend. Asparagus is not on my husband's favorite list. Coming across this recipe in my search I thought it might work. It did. My husband thought it was very good. Of course I didn't have all of the ingredients. I didn't have leeks or spinach. I added fresh chives from the garden with the cream. I happen to have cream but next time I think I will try EVAPORATED MILK as another reviewer said. I think the CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP idea also sounds good but that might be pushing it with my husband. If you like your soup thicker there is a Reduced Fat Potato Soup found on this site that uses a package of orignal COUNTRY STYLE GRAVY MIX. It thickens potato soup real well that you may even have to add either a little milk or water to desired consistency. I do like creamed soups. I may try adding CHEESE also. There are so many possiblities. I also had to use instant brown rice. Ten minutes is long enough to cook the vegetables in this recipe as long as they are diced small and it isn't going to hurt the rice if it is cooked longer than ten minutes. I agree that more rice could be used if desired as other reviewers stated. Very good recipe Luanne.
Decent but overrated! I followed the recipe precisely and the soup turned out very bland with mushy potatoes. The cream seems like an unnecessarily unhealthy ingredient; perhaps a healthier replacement would improve the recipe. When reheating leftovers I added vegetable bouillon cubes which resulted in a much tastier soup. However I will not be making this recipe again.
