The delicate flavor of leek is a perfect match for potatoes in this Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chive Blossoms. The luxurious texture of the soup is almost like velvet. With a garnish of fresh chive blossoms and petals this will be a stunning appearance on your table.
Leeks and fresh picked chive blossoms add a bit of class to the humble potato soup. It is definitely not my momma’s old-fashioned chunky potato soup that I grew up with.
While photoing my chives and chive blossoms a bee landed exactly in my camera vision. Perfect timing! I love it when each spring my pot of chives begin to bloom. I happily anticipate and plan recipes that I can garnish with these gorgeous blossoms.
How to use chives:
Chives are usually available in the grocery stores all year as they are grown in hothouses. I grow my chives in a large pot to keep them contained. If planted in the garden they will multiply and eventually take over a garden space. Chives are a perennial plant, meaning they do not need replanting annually.
Chives have a delicate onion flavor as they are related to the onion, garlic and leek family. I have found that snipping the delicate stems with kitchen scissors is the best way to prepare them for use.
Just hold a bundle of stems over a dish and snip away. Fresh chives taste best raw and look marvelous mixed into contrasting foods like deviled eggs or soft, creamy goat cheese appetizers.
Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chive Blossoms:
This classy, old-fashioned soup is so easy to make. Puréeing the soup adds a creamy, luxuriously smoothness to the delicate balance of leek and potato. It is an excellent light lunch any time of the year.
- Melt the butter and sauté the sliced leek until softened. One caveat…keep the heat low and do not allow to brown.
- Add the chicken broth, potatoes, wine, salt and pepper to the pot and simmer until soft.
- Purée the soup with an immersion stick blender or kitchen blender just until smooth and creamy. Do not over process!
- Reheat the soup and stir in the cream…do not allow the soup to boil after adding the cream.
- Ladle into serving bowls, garnish with fresh chive blossoms. Pull a chive blossom apart and scatter the petals on the soup. Add snipped chives and crisp croutons.
Serve with a crisp green salad, additional croutons and the remainder of that bottle of white wine. Enjoy! ❤️
Are Chives Blossoms edible?
Yes, those beautiful, light purple flowers are edible. Chive blossoms are generally added as a garnish to dishes such as our creamy potato and leek soup, smoked salmon eggs Benedict and our Korean kimchee pork pancakes.
The fluffy blossom can be picked apart and sprinkled on soups, salads or scrambled eggs. Be creative and take advantage of these pretty flowers as they have a short bloom time.
Are all flowers edible?
Not all flowers are edible, some are poisonous or sprayed with pesticide or chemicals. For safety, we recommended that you grow your own plants to serve with food. The chive is one of the easiest garden herbs to grow.
As a perennial, a small pot of chives will bring many years of rewards in both the green foliage as well as the puffs of purple flowers. The following is a partial list of edible flowers that you can safely include in your cooking:
- Calendula
- Chive
- Chrysanthemum
- Honeysuckle
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Lime
- Lilac
- Nasturtium
- Marigold
- Orange
- Pansies
- Rose
- Thyme
- Violet
The fluffy, golden dandelion is another favorite garnishing blossom. It usually grows as a pest in the lawn and not suitable for eating because of the fertilizing treatments the grass needs.
Safe flower consumption should always be a priority. It is always better to be safe than sorry. If you are unsure if a posey is safe to eat, research it first or discard it. It is fun and rewarding to grow your own supply of edible flowers. You will be confident they are safe and free from pesticides.
Tips on Edible Flowers:
- Eat only the flowers you know to be consumable
- Grow your own flowers.
- Do not eat flowers from the florist or nursery
- Do not eat roadside flowers or those picked in public parks.
- Eat only the petals, and remove pistils and stamens before eating.
- If you suffer from allergies, introduce edible flowers gradually, as they may exacerbate allergies.
- To keep flowers fresh, place them on moist paper towels and refrigerate in an airtight container. Some will last up to 10 days this way.
- Ice water can revitalize limp flowers.
Cooking with wine:
This recipe calls for wine. It doesn’t take much wine to enhance the flavor of the soup so there will be plenty left over to serve with your meal. Choose a good white wine that you enjoy drinking. We like Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc but there are plenty of other good choices.
Do not use wine that is labeled ‘cooking wine’. They tend to have a sour, vinegar flavor and are a very poor quality.
Can you freeze this creamy potato soup?
You can freeze this soup but we have some tips for you.
Because of the dairy, cream-based soups tend to separate and get grainy when defrosted. You can return the soup to a smooth creamy consistency if you blend it with the immersion blender or kitchen blender.
To freeze this soup allow the soup to cool then transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Cover the container and freeze for up to 3-months. When ready to use, defrost the soup in the refrigerator then transfer to a saucepan and heat slowly over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated.
SOME OTHER RECIPES WE ARE SURE YOU WILL LOVE:
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Prosciutto
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Check out our soup cookbook. It is filled with wholesome and hearty soups. Each soup recipe is from scratch with real ingredients and filling enough to be enjoyed as a main-course meal.
Potato Leek Soup with Chive Blossoms
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 large leeks sliced – white and light green parts only
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2-½ pounds potatoes cubed
- ½ cup dry white wine see notes
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon finely snipped fresh chives
- Chive blossoms and croutons for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large pan over low heat. Add the sliced leeks and stir until well coated in butter. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-minutes until the leeks are softened but not browned. Adjust the heat if necessary, do not let the leeks brown.
- Pour in the broth and add the potatoes, white wine, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20-minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Remove from the heat and purée with an immersion stick blender or kitchen blender only until smooth. (See notes).
- Add the cream and reheat the soup over medium heat. Do not boil.
- Serve the soup garnished with chive blossoms, snipped chives and crisp croutons.
Notes
- Choose a good dry wine you will want to drink with your soup, we like Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.
- Purée only until smooth. Over processing will cause the potatoes to become gluey.
- We love the convenience of our immersion blender as it can go directly into the soup pot to purée.
- If you use a kitchen blender to purée, work in batches and do not fill the container more than half full.
- To freeze this soup: Allow the soup to cool then transfer it to a freezer-safe container leaving 1-inch headspace for expansion. Cover the container and freeze for up to 3-months. When ready to use, defrost the soup in the refrigerator then transfer to a saucepan and heat slowly over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated.
- Cream based soups are prone to separate and become grainy when defrosted due to the dairy product. To return the soup to a smooth creaminess, blend with the immersion blender or kitchen blender for 30-seconds.
John / Kitchen Riffs
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Love the garnish in this dish! Really pretty. And I'll bet the soup itself tastes wonderful -- such a nice recipe. Great photos, terrific post -- thanks!
Pat Nyswonger
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Thank you, John....those pretty chive blossoms elevate a great tasting soup to 'special'....thanks for your comments.?