The perfect lunch: Potato Leek Soup takes inspiration from culinary idols

In my mind’s eye, a perfect lunch would be a steaming bowl of Potato Leek Soup, served with a simple green salad and warm French bread oozing with melted butter.

My companions would be Julia Child, Ina Garten and Gale Gand — three legendary chefs I deeply admire and think would be amazing guests.

Oh, and there’d be wine, of course. Lots of cold, crisp white wine.

But whose potato leek soup would we serve? Julia’s oh-so-simple variation that set the standard? Ina’s version with roasted potatoes, crème fraîche and topped off with Crispy Shallots? Or, perhaps, Gale’s version, where she slowly cooks the leeks in butter “until they almost seem to melt?”

Oh, my.

With apologies to Julia, let’s take a little from Ina and a little from Gale and see where we land.

This melded version roasts the potatoes — à la Ina — until they are nicely browned and caramelized, which adds a nice depth of flavor to the soup. I added an onion into the mix to give it a bit more punch.

Gale’s recipe called for slowly cooking the leeks to bring out their subtle flavor. Adding a bit of wine to deglaze the pan also gives the soup that nice pop of acidity. I decided to add them after pureeing the soup to give the dish a bit of texture.

As to liquid, I went with vegetable stock and heavy cream. Ina goes with chicken stock with heavy cream and crème fraîche and Gale opts for a full cup of wine, stock and heavy cream. Your choice here. Experiment!

Ina finishes it off with Crispy Shallots — a luxurious finale that’s well worth the effort, but totally optional. Gale ends her version more simply with fresh herbs.

No matter how you finish this soup off, find a way to make it your own. After all, taking a classic recipe and giving it a twist is exactly what made these three amazing women the legends they are.

• M. Eileen Brown is a retired journalist and media executive, and an incurable soup-a-holic.

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Potato Leek Soup

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, approximately 4 medium, sliced into 8-12 pieces

1 yellow onion, quartered

3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons fresh dill

Kosher salt

Cracked pepper

4 cups of vegetable stock, plus extra if needed

1 cup heavy cream

2 leeks, dark green removed, cut lengthwise, checked for any grit and then sliced into thin half-moons

1/4 cup dry white wine

Crispy Shallots or fresh dill and thyme to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place sliced potato pieces and quartered onion in a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, dill, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Lay out on a baking sheet and roast till the surfaces are browned, and the potato pieces are starting to soften. This should take about 30-35 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Once cool, add to a blender or food processor with 4 cups of stock, and puree until smooth. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the cream. Adjust liquids to make the soup as thick or thin as you desire.

In a medium stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and sauté until just golden and softened, about 7-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the wine to deglaze the pot. Simmer 2-3 minutes more.

Add the leeks to the pureed potato mixture. Warm through. Check seasonings once again and adjust.

Serve with chopped herbs or Crispy Shallots.

Serves 4.

— Adapted from Ina Garten’s “Back to Basics” and Gale Gand’s “Lunch!”

Crispy Shallots

1½ cup olive oil or 1½ cups vegetable oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5-6 shallots peeled and sliced into thin rings

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches 220°F on a candy thermometer.

Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. The temperature should stay below 260°F. Stir the shallots occasionally to make sure they brown evenly.

Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain well and spread out to cool on paper towels.

Once they have dried and crisped, they can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days.

— Ina Garten’s “Back to Basics”