• If you already have stock, start with the potato and leek soup section. Making stock from scratch adds an extra 6 hours to the recipe. Stock can be made in advance or store bought, to save time.

Chicken Stock:

• For the chicken stock, break down the chicken (see notes) with a boning knife and add in the rest of the ingredients into a stock pot. Bring everything to a gentle boil, uncovered, for 4-6 hours. Strain and store in the refrigerator.

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup:

• For the roasted garlic, preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C) cut the top of garlic bulb so the tops of each clove have been sliced off. Then place the bulb in the middle of a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle about 1tbsp (15ml or 12g) of olive oil over the top and wrap up the whole thing so it won't leak. Bake for 40 minutes. Separate 4 cloves from the bulb for the recipe. (see notes for storage instructions)
• While the garlic is roasting, prep your leeks by cutting off only the dark green tops and then slice lengthwise through each leek to just above the roots. (Do not cut all the way through) Give the leeks a quarter turn and slice again to just above the root portioning the leek into 4 sections. Rinse under running water and make sure to clean in between each strip. Then, chop on the bias until you make it to the root. The root and Dark green tops can be saved for future stock or tossed. Next, cut up your onion into large slices or chunks. (This soup is getting blended later, so don’t worry about perfection.)
• Using at least a 4Qt (3.75L) pot, turn the burner to medium heat and add in the olive oil. Toss in the leeks along with the salt and begin stirring everything around for 3-4 minutes, to begin softening them. Add in the onion and continue stirring and sweating everything down on medium for another 10 minutes. Lower the heat if you think your pan might be hot enough for the leeks to char; they get bitter if they are burned.
• Stir in the roasted garlic and miso paste for another 1-2 minutes. Then add in the chicken stock, bay leaves and parmesan rind. If you want a little heat in your soup, add some chili flakes to taste! Bring everything to a simmer.
• While the stock is coming to temperature, peel and cut your potatoes. You want to have quite large pieces (at least 1½in or 3.8cm cubes). Add them to the pot and let them simmer until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
• Once done, remove the potatoes from the soup and set aside to let them dry out a bit. Also remove and throw away the bay leaves and the parmesan rind.
• Scoop the remaining soup and cooked veggies into a blender, add in the thyme leaves, and blend until smooth. You may need to do two batches. Once that is fully blended pour it back into the stock pot, add in the white pepper, and give it a quick stir to incorporate.
• Next, push your potato pieces through a potato ricer (see notes for other options) and into the stock pot. When they have all been added, use an immersion blender, for no more than 1 minute, to further break up the potatoes and make the soup creamier. If the potatoes are overworked into the soup, they will get gummy and create a heavier texture.
• Use a Microplane or fine grater to grate some nutmeg into the soup and give it a final stir. If needed, salt to taste with either kosher salt or tamari.
• Serve drizzled with olive oil and buttermilk.