Potato, leek, fennel and carrot soup

My grandmother used to make the most delicious potato leek soup when I was little. I have never tried making this soup, but was thinking about my grandma and decided to make it today.

I've never read a recipe for potato leek soup, but assumed it was difficult, boy was I wrong. It might be one of the world's easiest soups to make.

I looked up a couple recipes and made this one up.

3 leeks sliced in half and thinly sliced, white parts and a little bit of the green too
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1-2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 peeled and chopped carrots
2 tbs. butter
40 oz. chicken stock
1/2 C. white wine
pinch of kosher salt and pepper
pinch of celery salt
1 Tbs. Better Than Bouillon (or whatever bouillon you have)

Place the sliced leeks into a bowl of water to clean. Let them sit while you peel and cut the potato and carrots. If you have that handy little Vidalia Chop wizard I wrote about a while ago, it would come in handy now...

Melt the butter in a soup pot and remove the leeks from the water. DO NOT drain the water from the leeks, as this will redeposit the dirt right back into the leeks.

Saute the leeks and fennel in the butter for 3-4 minutes until leeks begin to soften. Add salt and pepper. Add potatoes and carrots and stir to combine. Add stock and white wine, cover and bring to a boil until potatoes and carrots are soft.

Puree with a hand blender, if you don't have one you can do it in a blender a little at a time. Taste and add celery salt and bouillon as needed. The soup should be well pureed.

Let soup simmer on low until ready to eat.

We are having this for dinner tonight with some of the delicious homemade bread I made last night. YUM...