IRISH VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peel or unpeeled, roughly sliced
• 1 large leek, rinsed of sand and roughly sliced
• 2 medium yellow onions, roughly sliced
  kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium to large red skin potatoes, cut into 6 large pieces
• 2 quarts unsalted vegetable broth
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• fresh chives, snipped
• freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter and olive oil in a 5 to 6 quart dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add in carrots, leek and onion with 1 teaspoon salt. Stir, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring ocassionally. Once softened, add in garlic.
   Stir and cook 2 minutes. To that, add potatoes and broth. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
3. Once boiling, add in broccoli and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Work in batches, ladling vegetables and broth into a high powered blender. Remove the center plug from the lid and cover with a kitchen towel and puree until smooth. I poured the first batch into an 8-cup measuring cup and then pureed the second batch.
5. Alternatively, you could use a stick blender and directly puree the soup in the pot.
6. Pour soup back into the pot, taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve in bowls and garnish with extra black pepper and snipped chives.