Shopping on Monday I found myself stocking up on potatoes and leeks and realised I now have the habit of buying lots between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Why? Because for years I have made a huge pot of leek and potato soup for the Kehillah community when we break the fast. But not this year, it seems. It’s an odd thing to miss, but I do. It turned out that that soup was ideal for breaking the fast: tasty, smells good, very digestible, simple, slips down a treat. And it’s vegan, if you deprive yourself of the pleasure of adding some sour cream.

Are any of you missing it? Or thinking about it now? Well you can make your own.

1) Buy lots of leeks and potatoes (really the proportions are up to you!) and make sure you have cheap olive oil to hand. Buy sour cream if you want it.

2) Cut off the roots and any dead leaves from the leeks, slice them lengthways, chop and wash thoroughly

3) Peel the potatoes and chop into smallish pieces

4) Heat some olive oil in a large pan and add the leeks, turn down low and let them soften

5) Add the potatoes and mix them in for a couple of minutes max

6) Add lots of water, put a lid on them, bring to a simmer and give it 20+ minutes.

7) Check everything is soft, then blend. Add salt and black pepper as you wish

8) Go to KN service, sleep, go to YK service, drink soup (adding sour cream if you wish)

If you are within an easy distance of Highbury, I am happy to make some and share with you:

– get in touch before 9 a.m. on Saturday (sue.lukes@gmail.com) and arrange a time to collect on Sunday afternoon

– bring a container and collect some soup

– then we can drink soup to break the fast together on Monday

Sue