Aegean Blue Seas and Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Most Friday nights, you will find soup as the first course at my home.
It was the late eighties. My friend Sheila and I flew from Los Angeles to Athens. From there we took a ferry to the island of Evia. Some of the passengers on the ferry were tourists, but there were also some wrinkled old ladies, dressed all in black, with black scarves tied under the chin. They stared at us with their piercing eyes, giving us wicked glares. They were so unfriendly that we couldn’t wait to get off that ferry. The journey wasn’t over — Sheila and I boarded a small boat to get to our resort.
When we finally arrived, the view of Gregolimano took our breath away. There was a grassy mountain covered with tall trees that dropped down to a beach with powder white sand. There was a bright ring of opalescent turquoise surf surrounded by the deep blue of the Aegean Sea, stretching far beyond the horizon.
We were greeted by my cousin Alia and her husband Dimitri, who were currently working at this Club Med. Alia was a seamstress, designing and sewing the costumes for the nightly shows and Dimitri was in charge of taking groups out on daily excursions.
We soon discovered that this Club Med was new and that the water filtration system had not been installed. The water was so salty that every time we took a shower, we had to keep our eyes tightly closed and our mouths firmly shut.
We embraced the whole epic experience, spending the hot days tanning, swimming and snorkeling. We enjoyed the camaraderie of the communal meals, making many new friends from all over the world.
One night, these new friends persuaded us to sail for dinner at a restaurant on a nearby beach. The owner was a short, chubby man with very pink cheeks. He spoke neither French nor English, but he served us platters of fresh fish grilled over hot coals, bright red tomatoes, crispy cucumber and feta cheese covered in fresh oregano and doused with olive oil. We were very thirsty, but there was no water. Sheila and I kept drinking glass after glass of the man’s homemade wine.
You can imagine our state when we finally arrived back at our resort. There wasn’t much light, the rooms were spread out and we kept knocking on doors trying to find our room. Some people didn’t answer and some got really mad, yelling at us in languages we didn’t understand. We were laughing hysterically.
When we finally found our room, it was flooded up to our ankles. We both collapsed in our beds and laughed ourselves to sleep.
In its heyday, Club Med was like summer camp for adults. Sheila and I made lots of friends (we even met up with a group of them for dinner in Paris after). The only difference between summer camp and Club Med was the food. It was always French and very delicious. The meals were prepared with lots of vegetables. They served a lot of fresh fruit and lots and lots of wine. This was heaven!
Every night, Sheila and I would sit at a table with our new friends and we would be served a bowl of soup as a starter. No matter that it might be hot and humid, we would be served a comforting creamy vegetable soup.
I was never a huge fan of soup. I would eat it when my mother served it, but I didn’t pay it too much attention. It was only when I had my babies and my parents would host us on Friday nights that I realized what a perfect food it is.
It was only when I had my babies and my parents would host us on Friday nights that I realized what a perfect food [soup] is.
My mother served soup every Friday night, so there was something the kids would for sure eat. Maman’s comforting soups became a tradition. As the grandchildren grew older, her creamy vegetable soup became the favorite, but I will save this recipe for another time.
Now I’ve taken over the tradition, and most Friday nights, you will find soup as the first course at my home. That warm bowl of soup sets the tone. Everyone relaxes. I switch it up, depending on the season and the Jewish calendar. Chicken matzah ball in the fall. Claudia Roden’s red lentil soup for a cold winter night. A spring fava bean soup for Passover. A special simanim soup for Rosh Hashanah. Whenever I make my mother’s special vegetable soup, it feels like she is giving us a hug.
Like the chefs at Club Med, I like to make creamy soups. But instead of cream, I use Yukon gold potatoes.
Sometimes I will use broccoli which lends the soup a beautiful pale green color. In the fall, it’s butternut or carrots for an orange soup.
Recently, I made a creamy leek soup. The first week I cooked it with leeks and potatoes. The family liked it. But the second week, I made it with leeks, potatoes and zucchini, which made it lighter and fluffier. I made my soup extra fancy by adding saffron and white wine.
The chefs at Club Med always added a crunchy garnish to top the soup. Garlicky croutons or a slice of toasted baguette with a spoonful of rouille (a spicy saffron mayonnaise). I served my soup with homemade sourdough croutons seasoned with fresh garlic and olive oil. It was a winner. The critics (my extended family) really loved it. Sharon and I hope you make it. —Rachel
Leek and Potato soup
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 large leeks
6 cups chicken consommé, or vegetable broth
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 tsp saffron threads
1 tsp sea salt, to taste
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Pepper, to taste
1 cup white wine
Slice the white and light green parts of the leeks crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Place the slices in a bowl of cold water and wash thoroughly, then drain.
In a 3-4 quart thick-bottomed pot, warm the oil over medium heat, add the chopped leeks and stir to coat.
Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until the leeks are softened.
Add the broth, potatoes, zucchini, saffron, bay leaf, thyme, and a teaspoon of salt to the pot.
Increase the heat to high and bring soup to a simmer. Lower the heat to maintain a low simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Add the white wine, cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Using an immersion blender or a standing blender, blend soup in three batches.
Croutons:
1/2 loaf of baguette or crusty sourdough, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a medium bowl, toss croutons with olive oil and seasonings.
Place on a parchment lined sheet pan.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food.
