Leek Soup with Brie Toasts

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the library hosts the annual reading of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail." James attended again — his second year, and this year he brought Elise. The bringing of Elise to the library reading was not casual. It was an introduction — not to the family (Elise met the family at Thanksgiving) but to the values, to the things that matter to the Blackwood-Simmons household, to the idea that a library reading of a civil rights letter on a January Monday is not optional but essential. Elise listened with the attention of a woman who understands that she is being shown something, and the showing is the courting.

I watched them from the back of the auditorium — James in his coat and tie (he dresses for King Day the way Reverend James dressed for Sunday), Elise in a blue dress that she wore with the particular care of a woman meeting a standard she has been told exists and that she intends to meet. They sat close but not touching, the distance between their shoulders the precisely calibrated distance of two people who are falling in love and who are still maintaining the illusion that the falling is controlled.

Mama had a bad week. She did not recognize Ruth on Monday, which has never happened before — Ruth, who has been coming to the house five days a week for five months, who speaks Gullah and brings okra and calls Mama "Mrs. Simmons" with a respect that Mama has always recognized even when she cannot recognize the woman expressing it. The not-recognizing lasted twenty minutes. Then it passed. But the passing left a mark — on Ruth, whose face showed the hurt she tried to hide, and on me, who saw the hurt and understood it, because the hurt of being unrecognized by someone you care for is a hurt I know intimately.

I made Mama's oyster stew — the winter luxury, the plump Bowens Island oysters, the cream and butter and celery salt. The stew was made for comfort and consumed for warmth and the combination — comfort and warmth — was the meal's entire argument: that in a season of cold and a life of loss, the kitchen can still produce something that makes the body say yes. The body's yes is the only yes that the disease cannot take, because the body's yes is older than memory, deeper than names, and it lives in the place where taste and safety overlap, which is the place where cooking has always lived.

The oyster stew I made for Mama that evening reminded me how the right bowl of something warm can reach a place that nothing else can — past the confusion, past the grief of an afternoon where names slipped away, straight into the body’s oldest knowing. When I don’t have Bowens Island oysters on hand, this leek soup with brie toasts is the recipe I turn to for the same purpose: it is silky and gentle and rich enough to feel like a kindness, and the brie melting into the toast at the edge of the bowl is exactly the kind of small luxury that makes a hard week feel survivable.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
Salt and white pepper to taste
4 thick slices crusty baguette or sourdough
4 oz ripe Brie, rind removed, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh chives, thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Sweat the leeks. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes until the leeks are very soft, silky, and just beginning to turn golden at the edges.
Build the base. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the diced potatoes and stir to coat. Pour in the broth and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 18–20 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender.
Blend. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth and velvety. Alternatively, transfer in batches to a blender (use caution with hot liquid). Return soup to the pot over low heat and stir in the heavy cream. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper.
Prepare the brie toasts. While the soup finishes, arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for 1–2 minutes until lightly toasted on top. Flip, lay Brie slices over each piece, and return to the broiler for 1–2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling with golden spots. Watch closely.
Serve. Ladle the hot soup into wide, warmed bowls. Float one brie toast on the surface or rest it on the rim. Scatter chives over the top and add a crack of white pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Leek Soup with Brie Toasts — The Winter Warmth That Lets the Body Say Yes