Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium-sized cubes. Slice the white and light green parts of the leek and rinse them well. Set both aside.
Finely chop the onion. Then heat some oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook it for another minute.
Add the potatoes and the leek and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the vegetable broth and the bay leaf. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.
Fish out the bay leaf and discard. Reserve some of the cooked potatoes and leek for later if you want your soup to be a bit chunky. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively you could also use a standard blender to purée the soup (see instructions in the recipe notes).
Stir in the coconut milk, the dried thyme, the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and sprinkle it with chopped green onion, parsley, and chives. Enjoy!
Notes
If you want a lighter version of this potato soup, you could also replace the coconut milk with almond milk. However, I prefer the version with coconut milk by far. It's just so much creamier!
You could also make this potato soup in your Instant Pot. Use the "sauté function" and follow the steps as you would on the stove top. After adding the vegetable broth and the bay leaf, cook the soup on high pressure for 8 minutes. Do a quick release and purée the soup as described.