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Creamy Yukon Gold potato and leek soup—simple, comforting, and velvety smooth. Serve hot with chives or chilled as classic vichyssoise.

1. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Split the leek ends in half lengthwise and rinse out any soil trapped between the layers; slice them crosswise into ¼-inch half-rounds.
2. In a large soup pot with a thick base, melt the butter over medium heat and cook the sliced leeks, stirring often until they are very tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the cubed potatoes, broth, salt, and pepper and bring the soup to a boil. Cover and decrease the heat to low. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender. (The soup may be served as a rustic country soup at this point, but it is even better when it is pureed.)
3. In a blender, puree the soup in small batches. Cover the top of the machine with a kitchen towel and process, using short pulses at first so that the hot mixture does not overflow when the machine is turned on. Bring the cream to a gentle simmer in the soup pot and stir in the pureed soup. Serve the soup hot with snipped chives on top.

Served cold, this would be vichyssoise; served hot, it is sometimes called soup bonne femme, or “good housewife” soup. Whatever it is called, it is inexpensive, satisfying, and very, very good. Thin-skinned Yukon Gold potatoes need not be peeled. In fact, the skins almost disappear when the soup is pureed, but their memory lends the soup more character.

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