Gordon Ramsay’s Leek and Potato Soup Recipe

Gordon Ramsay leek and potato soup is a creamy, blended soup made with leeks, Charlotte potatoes, milk, stock and a bay leaf, ready in about 25 minutes. What sets his version apart is a teaspoon of curry powder stirred into the leeks as they soften, which adds warmth without tasting like curry.

This recipe is adapted from his Leek, Potato and Smoked Haddock Soup in Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food, where he builds the soup base by sautéing sliced leeks and cubed potatoes in olive oil and butter with curry powder and seasoning before simmering everything in milk and stock. The original folds smoked haddock through crushed potatoes at the end, but the base stands on its own as a pure leek and potato soup.

The technique that makes it work: he uses milk alongside the stock instead of cream during cooking. The milk gives body without heaviness, so the finished soup tastes clean and sweet rather than rich and cloying. Cream goes in at the end if you want it, not before blending.

FAQs

Why does Ramsay add curry powder to leek and potato soup?

Most leek and potato soup recipes rely on leeks, potatoes and stock alone. Ramsay stirs a teaspoon of curry powder into the sauté at the start, which is unusual for a British classic.

The curry powder doesn’t make the soup taste like curry. At that small amount, it adds a gentle warmth and depth that rounds out the natural sweetness of the leeks. It works the same way a pinch of nutmeg works in béchamel: you wouldn’t identify it, but you’d notice if it was missing.

Why does he use milk instead of just stock?

In Fast Food, the liquid base is 1 3/4 cups (425ml) of milk and 1 1/4 cups (300ml) of stock rather than all stock with cream stirred in at the end. That ratio matters.

Simmering the potatoes in milk gives the soup a natural creaminess and body before it ever hits the blender. You get a silky, thick result without needing much cream at all, which keeps the soup tasting clean. If you used all stock, you’d need to add significantly more cream to get the same texture, and the whole thing would taste heavier.

Why Charlotte potatoes instead of a floury variety?

Ramsay specifies Charlotte potatoes in the Fast Food recipe, which are a waxy variety. Floury potatoes like Russets break down faster and can turn the soup gluey if you over-blend, because they release more starch.

Charlottes hold their shape during the initial simmer, then blend into a smooth, clean-textured soup without that pasty starchiness. If you can’t find Charlottes, Yukon Gold is the closest substitute. Avoid Russets or Maris Piper for this one.

How is this different from his Cullen Skink?

Ramsay’s Cullen Skink in Great British Pub Food is another smoked haddock and potato soup, but the approach is completely different. The Cullen Skink poaches the haddock in milk separately, then builds the soup around shallots, garlic and 600g of waxy potatoes. No leeks, no curry powder.

The Fast Food version is lighter and quicker. It uses half the potatoes, adds leeks as the main vegetable, and cooks everything together in one pan. Cullen Skink is a hearty, warming main course. The Fast Food base is an elegant starter that happens to be ready in 25 minutes. If you want something with a similar comforting feel but more crunch, try pairing this soup with his cucumber salad on the side.

What is the original smoked haddock version?

The full Fast Food recipe lays 9 oz (250g) of smoked haddock fillets into the simmering soup after the potatoes are tender, then poaches them for 2 to 3 minutes until flaky. He lifts them out, flakes the fish and removes the skin.

Then he takes a quarter of the leeks and potatoes out of the pot, crushes them lightly with a fork, and stirs the flaked haddock and snipped chives through that mixture. The rest of the soup gets blended smooth. To serve, he piles the crushed potato and haddock mixture in the centre of warm bowls and pours the blended soup around it. It’s a restaurant-style presentation where every spoonful gets a different ratio of smooth soup to chunky fish. For a lighter meal, serve it with a simple green bean salad.

Can I add the smoked haddock and still call it leek and potato soup?

Ramsay clearly thinks leek, potato and smoked haddock belong together, since he built the recipe that way in Fast Food. The haddock adds a smoky, savoury layer that complements the sweetness of the leeks and the warmth from the curry powder.

If you want to try it, use undyed smoked haddock and poach it gently in the soup rather than cooking it separately. Three minutes is enough. Overdone smoked haddock turns chalky and dry. You’ll also find a more elaborate version in his beet salad, where earthy beetroot pairs with smoked fish in a similar way.