Lunch for us growing up as kids, certainly in the winter months, was always good homemade soup and chunky brown bread. It is incredible how something so simple can be so unbelievably good. With the sleet pouring down outside and knowing that we would be trudging through it as soon as our soup spoons were down (the dogs always needed a walk!), each mouthful of warming soup tasted all the more delicious and we would eek it out as long as we could.

It helped that my mum is the best cook that I know. Her soup is always lovingly made with homemade stock from whatever bones have been left over from dad’s great roast the Sunday before. Tattie and leek soup at home would always be made with proper chicken stock. It is about getting the simplest ingredients to do their job and shine through.

Now, if you ask my children what soup they would like for lunch, nine times out of ten they will say Tattie and Leek. Tattie being the Scottish preferred word for potato. It is of course the best, in their opinion. Although such a simple recipe, it creates one of the most delicious flavour packed soups and I hope you enjoy it too.

Tattie and Leek Soup (serves 4)

• 3 leeks
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 25g butter
• 500g potatoes (Russets are good as they are higher in starch and so smoother when mashed)
• 1.2 litres hot chicken stock or vegetable stock (we use vegetable stock in the café)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml single cream
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Method:

Trim and slice the leeks lengthways and clean thoroughly under cold water. I like to keep the green part of the leek as it adds depth to the colour of the soup (and flavour too!). Chop the leeks into chunks.

Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat and sauté the sliced onions, garlic and leeks until they are soft, but not brown.

Peel and chop the potatoes into small chunks and add to the pan followed by the hot stock.

Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Remove from the heat and with a hand blender, blend the soup until completely smooth.

Add the single cream leaving a small amount to swirl on the top and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

---

Gill and Weller de Oliveira's The Olive Tree Cafe at Logie Steading has now changed hands and become The Cafe at Logie Steading as of February 2022