Potato,Leek and Zucchini Soup

Winter has started with full force here and the most comforting thing I can think in this weather is a hot, steaming bowl of a hearty soup. This is my way of having a healthy dinner, a soup filled with vegetables served with butter croutons made with multi-grain bread. I used home made chicken broth for it but you can replace with vegetable broth to have a vegan version. Potatoes add a nice creaminess to the mellow flavour of leeks and zucchini.  I have used yukon gold but use any yellow flesh potatoes.

Ingredients

Leeks                     3
Potatoes                 4-5 cups 1 cm cubes
Zucchini                  2  (1 cm cubes)
Broth                      6-7 cups
Butter                     1 tbsp
Spring onion           1
Salt                         to taste
Black pepper          1/2 tsp

Method

Cut the leeks in half length wise. Wash them thoroughly by soaking in a big bowl of water, then thinly slice.
Thinly slice the spring onion and keep aside.
Cut potatoes and zucchini into 1 cm cubes.
Add 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan. Once melted, add sliced leeks and green onion. Cook on low medium heat just to soften them up. Do not brown them.
Boil the broth, once it comes to a boil, add potatoes, salt and pepper. When potatoes are fork tender around 5-8 minutes, add zucchini cubes. Cook for 2 minutes and add leek and onion mix.
Bring it back to the boil, adjust seasonings if needed and serve hot.

Note:
Serve with any crusty bread or croutons.
Freshly cracked black pepper just lifts the flavour to a whole new level .