First things first:  Mrs. Butcher loves this soup.  She loves it so much that we grow several dozen leeks each year just so I can make this soup over and over and over again.  She will eat it for weeks on end without complaint.  For my part, I’ve actually gotten quite sick of it and haven’t eaten it in years.

A caveat before we get started:  The original version of this soup uses regular potatoes, but a few years ago Mrs. Butcher decided she wouldn’t eat those anymore so I had to switch to sweet potatoes.  Which, coincidentally, was around the same time when I got sick of eating this soup.  Go figure.

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 Sweet Potatoes, cut into 1” cubes

6 Cups Leeks, chopped

2 Stalks Celery, chopped

2 Lg. Carrots, chopped

1 Stick Butter

1 ½ tsp. Salt

Black Pepper, to taste

Lake Shore Drive Seasoning Blend, to taste

1 Cup Stock or Water

5 Cups Milk

Cook sweet potatoes, leeks, celery, carrots, butter, salt, pepper, and Lake Shore Drive Seasoning in a large saucepan over medium heat, until the butter is melted and everything is coated—about 5 minutes.

Add the stock or water and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 25 minutes until sweet potatoes are very soft.  Check the moisture level occasionally because if it gets too low you’ll need to add more.

Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Using a food processor or blender, puree the veggies with the milk until completely smooth.  Unless you’ve got a monster-sized food processor, this will be done in stages, so you’ll need to return the puree to a clean saucepan.  However, in doing so, you’ll run into the Dreaded Splatter Effect in which globs of the soup splatter all over the damned place.  Pro Tip:  To prevent this catastrophe, place a whisk in the empty saucepan and then pour the puree on top of the whisk.  Everything will land in the pan and nothing will splatter out.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.