Cream of Leek and Vermicelli Soup

Photo Credit
Karl Allgaeuer/shutterstock
Written By: The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors The Almanac Editors and Staff
Yield
Serves 6-8.
Course
Preparation Method

Looking for something cozy and delicious? Make this nourishing leek and pasta soup! It’s wonderful with crusty bread, especially on a cold day. It tastes best with homemade stock, but canned broth will also do!

We kept this soup simple, but it’s versatile.

  • Add chicken if you wish to increase protein.
  • Chop up a carrot or two and add them with the leeks if you’d like more vegetables.
  • Chop up green beans and add to the soup pot (when you add the flour).

Ingredients
4 leeks
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 cups milk
2 ounces vermicelli, broken up
Optional: Top with grated parmesan cheese
Optional: Top with parsley

Instructions

  1. Wash the leeks and cut them down to 2 inches below where the green leaves separate from the whole stem. Slice the lower stems and bulbs lengthwise in half, then crosswise about 1/4-inch thick. Rinse thoroughly and drain. Melt butter in a heavy soup pot and saute the leeks gently, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Add another tablespoon of butter if needed.
  2. Add flour to soup pot and stir well with leeks. Cook at very low heat for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and ladle 1 cup of the stock into the leek-and-flour mixture in the soup pot. Mix well. Add 2 cups milk to the leek mixture. Cook the mixture gently, stirring often, for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Bring the remaining chicken stock to a boil, add the vermicelli, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the vermicelli is soft. Add the stock and vermicelli to the soup pot, and heat through.
  4. Optional: After serving in bowls, top with grated Parmesan cheese and/or parsley.

About The Author
The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Almanac Editors and Staff

Under the guiding hand of its first editor, Robert B. Thomas, the premiere issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac was published in 1792 during George Washington’s first term as president.Today, the Almanac...