Leek and potato soup with roasted pepper focaccia – Saturday Kitchen RecipesSaturday Kitchen Recipes

Preparation time
1-2 hours

Cooking time
1 to 2 hours

Serves
Serves 4

Dietary
Vegetarian

By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the roasted pepper focaccia

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 roasted peppers from a jar, thinly sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
2 garlic cloves, sliced
7g dried yeast
500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp salt
semolina, for dusting
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper

For the leek and potato soup

75g/2½oz unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
2 leeks, sliced
2 large potatoes, finely chopped
1 bouquet garni (5cm/2in celery, 1 bay leaf and 2 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together)
200ml/7fl oz full-fat milk
200ml/7fl oz double cream
10g/¼oz fresh chives, chopped

For the Parmesan and thyme cream

200ml/7fl oz double cream
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
200g/7oz Parmesan, grated

To serve

50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
1 potato, peeled and finely chopped

Method

To make the roasted pepper focaccia, heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the peppers, thyme and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes. Remove and set aside until cold.
Combine the yeast, flour and salt in a bowl and mix. Gradually add 350ml/12fl oz of lukewarm water until you have a soft, supple dough. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes on a lightly floured work surface, then cover with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
After the first resting, preheat the oven to 240C/220C Fan/Gas 9. Lightly dust a baking sheet with semolina and roll the dough into a 38x28cm/15x11in rectangle. Arrange the pepper mix on the dough, drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Roll up into a log shape and bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown all over.
To make the leek and potato soup, heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Fry the onion and leek for 3–4 minutes until soft, then add the potato and bouquet garni and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the milk and cream and cook for 5–8 minutes more, or until the potato is cooked.
Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until thick and smooth. Finish with the chopped chives and keep warm.
To make the Parmesan cream, combine the cream and thyme in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese – the cream will thicken as the cheese melts. Keep warm.
Just before you’re ready to serve, heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming, then add the diced potato. Season and cook for 5–8 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with the Parmesan cream and top with the fried potatoes. Slice the rolled focaccia and serve on the side.