Best. Soup. Ever.

This is easily one of my top 3 favorite meals (that I prepare for myself anyway...) It's hearty and thick, tastes and feels like comfort food, but is actually really healthy... and easy to make. Plus the leftovers freeze beautifully and then you get to enjoy it all over again some other cold night. Dare I say it's my "signature dish?"

Leek and Chickpea Soup
Adapted from Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef

Ingredients:
5 medium sized leeks
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas
1 potato, peeled
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3-4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil (optional for drizzling)

Directions:
Cut off the root end of the leek, and then cut off the rough, green tops of the leek. You'll just want to use the portion of the leek that is white or light green. Slice the leeks in half vertically and rinse well under cold water. (Lots of dirt and grit tends to get caught inside the leek's many layers, so you'll want to kind of pull it apart to make sure you get in there really well.) Then slice up the leeks finely. Pushing them through the tube at the top of your food processor works great for this, but slicing manually is fine too.

Put the butter and olive oil into a large, heavy pot. Melt the butter over medium-high heat, then add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and sautee until the leeks are soft, about 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up the peeled potato into large chunks, and drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add the potato and chickpeas to the pot and cook for about a minute. Then add 3 cups of the chicken broth and simmer for about 15 minutes. When the potato chunks are fully cooked and you can easily pierce them with a fork, turn off the heat.

The final step is to puree about half of the soup, so it has a velvety feel, but still has some nice texture. You can either ladle about half the soup into a blender to puree and then mix it back into the remainder of the soup, or use an immersion blender to puree the soup about halfway in the pot. If you use the blender, don't fill the blender the whole way since it is a hot liquid and will need some room for steam. It's also a good idea to hold the top of the blender down with a towel just for safety. I usually try to include most of the potato chunks in the portion that I puree since I don't like the big chunks in my soup, but either way is fine. Once you've pureed to your desired texture, decide if you need to add in any additional chicken broth. Sometimes I like to thin it out a little.

To finish, ladle the soup into bowls, add a some freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I like a lot!) and some freshly ground pepper. If you want to get a little decadent, drizzle a little bit of good quality extra virgin olive oil over the top and enjoy! Throw in a mixed green salad and a glass of white wine and you have weeknight dinner perfection.