Leek and potato soup with bacon

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg leek
• 800 g potatoes, waxy, preferably of the same size
• 200 g smoked bacon, streaky, with rind
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp clarified butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 800 ml vegetable stock
• 2 juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves
• ½ bunch marjoram, fresh, chopped
• some salt
• some pepper, mixed, from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Trim the leeks, score them lengthwise, rinse thoroughly, and cut into medium-thick rings. Peel the potatoes, rinse them, and cut them into medium-thick slices. Trim the rind from the bacon and dice the bacon. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Heat the clarified butter in a roasting pan and fry the bacon cubes and rind until golden brown. Then add the potato slices and braise for about 10 minutes. Then add the leek rings, dust with flour, and sauté. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the chopped garlic, juniper berries, bay leaves, and cloves, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the rind, juniper berries, bay leaves and cloves from the soup, stir in the chopped marjoram and season to taste with a little salt and a few turns of mixed pepper from the mill.