Cream of Potato, Leek and Mushroom Soup with Herbed French Loaf

The cold and blustery days of autumn are here, and that means just one thing: it's soup season! This was my first time making a traditional creamed soup, so I had to look around the Internet for a little bit of inspiration first. This recipe was loosely inspired by Taste of Home. A word of warning: although this is made from pure, wholesome ingredients, it is very heavy on the cream and butter. It just wouldn't be so delicious any other way!

What you'll need:

• 1 organic portobello mushroom
• 1/2 pound each of organic button and crimini mushrooms
• 3 large carrots, cut into coin shapes
• 5 cups peeled, diced potatoes
• 1 large leek
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 tsp red chilli powder
• 6 cups of organic vegetable stock
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used Half & Half coffee cream)
• 1/4 cup flour

For the garnish:

• fresh cracked pepper
• thinly sliced leek 

In a frying pan, saute the onions and garlic in coconut oil (or any oil of your choice) for at least half an hour, until they are completely soft and translucent. If you've been following me for awhile, you'll know that this is the starting point for every single one of my recipes! It's always all about the onions! In your large soup pot, add the carrots and chopped leek to a little bit of oil and saute until tender. Add the onions and garlic and stir well before pouring the vegetable stock into the pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil, adding a little bit of salt and the red chilli powder to taste.

To the pan that you used to sauted the onions and garlic, add a generous tablespoon of butter and saute the mushrooms (sliced thickly) until tender, but still chewy (to get that 'meaty' taste and texture). You can use any mushroom combination you desire, but I used portobello, button and crimini (delicious!). Add mushrooms to the soup pan and let simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes fall apart when stuck with a fork and the flavours are well combined.

In a small bowl, mix one cup of heavy cream and then slowly add 1/4 cup of flour, stirring vigorously so there are no lumps. Add this mixture gradually to the soup, stirring well. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and let thicken for about 15 minutes. Garnish with freshly cracked pepper and thinly sliced leeks to add a touch of colour. I served the soup with a nice, thick slice of fresh out of the oven herbed french loaf, and my family ate like they hadn't seen food before. Overall, a successful weekday supper.

***I had used organic, low-sodium vegetable stock and I'm not gonna lie, I added a lot of salt as I was going along. Next time I won't bother with the low-sodium; sometimes you just need to prioritize flavour.