In a large pot, combine potatoes, leeks, carrots, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Add broth and enough water to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are soft.

In a separate pan, heat milk. When vegetables are soft, add milk to vegetable mixture.

Make a roux, or paste, by combining the oil and flour. Stir into hot soup, a tablespoon at a time, allowing several minutes of cooking between each addition until soup reaches desires thickness. Remove bay leaf before serving.

From Siobhan Reidy, owner of The Irish Rover, as requested by Karen Jacobi of Jeffersonville, in Alice Colombo's 11/29/95 "Cook's Corner" column called "Lexington Lasagna Gets the Red Out" in "The (Louisville, Ky) Courier-Journal". Pg. C5. Electronic format by Cathy Harned.