Tom Kitchin recipe: leek and potato soup with crispy ox tongue
Enjoy Tom Kitchin’s delightful recipe for leek and potato soup with crispy ox tongue and poached egg this Easter
Over the next two weeks, Dominic and I want to share some of our favourite Easter recipes to give you a bit of inspiration if you’re playing host to friends or family over the coming holidays. I often find simple, classic recipes, given a fresh, modern twist, make the best crowd-pleasers. Eggs can be a fantastic ingredient to use as a foundation for your Easter starter. They’re synonymous with Easter, but they are also very nutritious, quick to prepare and always add colour to the plate. If you have young children, they are no doubt like ours and only interested in the chocolate variety. But there are some delicious recipes that work for the whole family. I tend to find bargaining with them works well too. This soup is ideal and a lovely upgrade on a traditional leek and potato soup. If you use fresh leeks and fresh, locally sourced eggs, you’ll be able to achieve the wonderful contrast of vibrant green against the fresh creamy egg white. The soup can easily be made in advance – all you have to do when you’re ready to eat, is poach the eggs and fry the ox tongue. I find it’s this kind of extra detail that can make a simple soup really stand out – and turn a good meal into a truly memorable one.
Ingredients
- 2 white onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 150g unsalted butter
- 4 leeks (green tops), washed and finely sliced
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
- Ox tongue
- 1 large onion
- 1 large carrot
- 4 celery sticks
- 2 leeks
- 1 bunch of parsley stalks
- 1 head of garlic, broken into cloves
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 fresh ox tongue, about 2kg
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- Eggs
- 4 free-range eggs
- 100ml white wine vinegar
- salt
- Garnish
- 100g leeks (white parts) washed and finely sliced
- knob of butter
- 100g potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
- salt and pepper
- cracked black pepper
Serves: 4 Difficulty: Medium Time to cook: 240 mins
Method
To make the soup
1 In a heavy-bottomed pan, sweat the sliced onions gently in the butter for 4-5 minutes. Add the sliced leeks and sweat for another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover with boiling water and boil over a high heat until the potatoes are cooked.
2 Remove from the heat and blitz in a blender until smooth. Do this as quickly as possible to keep the lovely green colour.
To cook the ox tongue
3 Bring a large pot of seasoned water to the boil. Dice all the vegetables, add them to the pan with the garlic and bouquet garni and bring back to the boil. Then add the tongue and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 4 hours.
4 Once the tongue is tender, lift it out and carefully remove the skin while it is still warm. Also remove any glands, excess fat and gristle, then leave the tongue to rest and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cut it into cubes and then fry in a heated, oiled pan until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
To poach the eggs
5 Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Gently whisk the water to create a whirlpool effect, then drop in the eggs and cook for 3-4 minutes for soft yolks. Remove the eggs and place them on kitchen paper to drain.
To prepare the garnish
6 Sweat the leeks in a pan with a knob of butter and season with salt and pepper. Boil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes until soft.
To serve
7 Put some leek and potato garnish in the centre of each soup bowl and place an egg on top. Pour the soup around and serve with crispy ox tongue and cracked black pepper.