LEEK AND COD SOUP
_Porrusalda_ **Editor's Note:** This recipe, introductory text, and author's tips are excerpted from Marina Chang's book _Tastes of the Pyrenees, Classic and Modern_. We've also added some tips of our own below. For a complete guide to Basque cuisine, [click here](http://eat.epicurious.com/eat/going_global/?/eat/going_global/basque/intro. html). _Porrusalda_, or leek soup in Basque, is a very traditional dish. It includes pumpkins, an interesting component in a soup composed of both Old World (carrots, leeks) and New World (potatoes, pumpkin) ingredients. In Spain, the first record of using potatoes as food was written in 1530\. The families of Basque sailors along the Bay of Biscay were the first Europeans to grow potatoes in their gardens, and Basques fishing for cod introduced them to the Irish by the mid seventeenth century. Pumpkins were widely eaten by native Americans from Canada to northern South America for centuries before Columbus arrived. European settlers in North America readily adopted them as a staple in their diets. The first definite record of pumpkins in Europe occurred in 1591\. Pumpkins require a fair amount of hot weather for best growth and are successful in much of the Pyrenean region, unlike northern Europe.
Provided by Marina Chang
Yield Makes 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Soak the cod in cold water at least 24 hours in advance. Change the water, several times a day. Then cut in pieces.
- Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and sauté leeks until they brown slightly, 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until they begin to take on a slight tan color, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Toss in potatoes, carrot, pumpkin, and cod pieces. Immediately, pour in enough water to cover, 4 to 5 cups. Add about 1 teaspoon salt or less to the water, as the cod might still contain salt. Bring soup to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes are the desired softness. Stir once or twice. Depending on the size of the potato pieces, simmer for 15 to 25 minutes.
- Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Serve alone or with good bread.
- Two basic types of porrusalda exist, with and without cod. Excluding cod from the soup makes it no less genuine.
- Many cooks will not include garlic or sauté their leeks, and may stir in olive oil only at the end, into the nearly finished product. I find the simple steps of pan-frying the leeks and garlic add greatly to the flavor of these vegetables, as does the oil in the porrusalda.
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