Potato Leek Soup

I have been using leeks a lot lately for different recipes and my mother in law mentioned that she loved potato lee soup.  So I thought I would try making it, and this is the recipe I found and tried.  It's originally from food network, but I tweaked it a bit to make it my own and add something I love: sweet potatoes.  Try it out, I think you'll like it.

Potato Leek Soup

6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into a medium dice
3 medium or small sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and medium diced
5 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
8 leeks, whites only, divided in half
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 c flour
1 stick butter
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper

Cut 1st 4 leeks in half lengthwise, and then slice thin.  Put these in a large bowl of water and gently break apart the layers.  Set aside.  Using your fingers, skim the leeks off the top of the bowl and place into stockpot.  The dirt and grit that gets between the layers falls to the bottom, so you want to leave that behind.  Shake them dry after skimming them.

In a large stock pot, combine potato, sweet potato, celery, onion, first half of leeks, bay leaf and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and continue to boil til the potatoes are soft.  While cooking, prepare second half of leeks the same way as the first and   Remove the bay leaf, add the other half of leeks and with a stick or immersion blender, blend everything til smooth.  Melt butter over low heat on the stove in a separate pot, add flour and whisk til smooth to create roux to thicken the soup.  Add the cream, roux, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Serve with rolls or bread or whatever you like.  :)