Thoroughly clean the leeks with lukewarm water to remove any dirt between the leaves. Chop the white part and light green parts to use in the soup. If you’d like to use the darker green leaves, you may do so. The dark green parts just require a little extra cooking time. Similarly, chop the potatoes and garlic.

Heat a large thick-bottomed pot (such as a large Dutch oven) over medium-high heat on the stove top and add the strips of bacon. Cook bacon, flipping every 2-3 minutes, until it reaches your desired level of crisp.

Add the chopped leeks and chopped potatoes to the pot of bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring soup to a full boil, uncovered. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender when poked with a fork.

Transfer ⅔ of the soup to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Note: you can blend all of the soup if you want the whole batch to be completely creamy. You can also use a hand-held immersion blender. Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the chunky soup and stir well. Add the half and half and sea salt and black pepper to your personal taste and heat over medium-low heat just until the soup is the temperature you like for serving.

Chop the cooked bacon and serve soup with chopped bacon and a sprinkle of pepper on top. Chopped green onions or fresh chives are great for serving too.

I love the idea of serving this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade croutons on top. A slice of crusty bread with a little butter works too.

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze soup for up to 3 months.