Roasted Potato Leek Soup

This is another recipe from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.  It is quite time consuming, but has great flavor and is very filling.

Roasted Potato Leek Soup
6 Servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (about 5 medium-sized potatoes)
4 cups chopped leeks, cleaned of all sand and grit (about 4 good-sized leeks)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups baby arugula, lightly packed
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken or veggie stock (I prefer low sodium)
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz créme fraîche*
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 400°.  Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer.  Add the olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly.

Roast for 40-45 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes, until very tender.  Add the arugula and toss to combine.  Roast for 5 more minutes until the arugula is wilted.  Remove the pan from the oven and place over two burners.  Stir in the wine and 1 cup of the stock and cook over low heat, scraping the pan for any bits sticking to the pan.

2.  In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor in batches, adding stock as needed to make a purée.  Transfer puréed soup into a large pot.  Add the remaining stock, Parmesan, cream, créme fraîche, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. 

3.  Once heated through serve with additional Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

*If you're like me and unable to find créme fraîche, you can use sour cream as a substitute.

For this recipe, Ina suggests topping this soup with crispy shallots along with the Parmesan.  My plan was to do this, but unfortunately, my shallots went from "crispy" to "burnt" in no time flat.