Potatoes!

All summer long I have been growing potatoes on my teeny-tiny balcony in a sturdy plastic supermarket shopper bag. Yesterday evening I finally harvested the first of my crop (by rooting around in the soil with my bare hands no less, because I have no tools, not even a trowel, but that seemed to work well enough!). I used them to make my supper, a rather rustic leek and potato soup. I say rustic because I don't blend it, but simply use the following method which I learnt from my mother:

Slice the leeks (I used three for the above amount of potatoes) finely and cook in a lidded pan with a generous amount of butter until silky soft. Meanwhile, chop the potatoes into small pieces and boil for about 5min, in the microwave is fine. Drain, then roughly break up with a fork, before adding to the softened leeks. Add half a litre of stock and simmer for a few minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a swirl of cream and perhaps some grated Parmesan if you want to remove the peasant feel. The above measurements are rough I know, but I got two big bowlfuls from it. You could easily increase the quantities and freeze leftovers for a later date.

Very easy, very tasty, possibly a bit unseasonal, but the sky was grey and there was a light spattering of rain in my part of London.