Lamb and leek soup recipe

It's the 17th of the month so Kiva repayments day today! Before I get on

Leek and lamb soup 

to the promised soup recipe, I'd like to tell you about my Kiva loans this month. I have received the first repayment from one of my 40th Birthday loans - Lurdes who is a shopkeeper in Timor-Leste - and I have made new loans to Hannatu who is a maize farmer in Nigeria, and Sandra - a Bolivian shopkeeper who wants to start selling ice creams. If you would like to join me on Kiva by clicking one of these links, you can get a free bonus loan to try it out!

Much like my recent Leftover-Lamb Pie recipe, today's concoction came about through a need to use up meat we had left after a roast lamb dinner. We had eaten leeks with this lamb so I also had three leek ends and one whole leek too, but no onion which is generally the ingredient with which I start a soup. I hoped the leeks would be a good onion substitute and they were. The prep does take a while, but I think the soup's appearance makes it worthwhile.

Ingredients:
Splash of olive oil
2 leeks (or leek ends to make up that volume)
60g (ish) cooked lamb
500ml stock
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the leeks and slice them into thin rounds, about 2-3mm. This is a good recipe to use up the less appetising green ends of leeks as it doesn't matter if they are a bit tougher. Cut each thin round into quarters.

Slice the lamb into similar thickness and sized shreds.

Splash a little olive oil into a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring frequently to prevent browning, until the vegetable softens.

Add the lamb, mint, herbs and stock. I used chicken stock because that's what I had to hand, but a lamb stock would probably be best. Stir to combine and cover pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until stock is cloudy with the leek and lamb juices.

Season to taste and serve immediately.

I was inspired in the style and consistency of this soup by one we had as part of our Dutch Christmas dinner at Serro da Bica in Portugal. I don't like pureed meat in a stock - and our hand blender has given up the ghost anyway - so thought copying Hermann's fine slicing of ingredients would suit here.