Vegan Leek and Potato Soup - A Quick Recipe for a Hearty Fall Dish (2024)

FAQs

Why does my leek and potato soup taste bland? ›

The reasons are usually two: you didn't season your soup at all, worrying it might be too salty because of the leeks; or you added to much water for the stock.

Why is my potato and leek soup slimy? If you blend or puree the potatoes for too long, the starch inside the potatoes will leak into the broth and create a gelatin-like consistency.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

It looks as though some of your potatoes might have got a bit scorched. Did you fry them off before adding the liquid? The colour from the browned potatoes could be what is turning it brown.

If your broth tastes like it lacks savory richness, you can pack in umami flavor by putting soy sauce, miso, roasted onion, mushrooms, tomato paste, or seaweed. These ingredients provide depth to the broth, but you must ensure that your chosen ingredients match the recipe.

Bitterness is best counteracted by salt, so give it a good seasoning. You might also try adding a little mild vinegar like white wine or cider vinegar.

Cornstarch is a very effective thickener, and a little bit can go a long way. Add cornstarch to a small amount of cold water or other liquid (wine or stock) and whisk into a thick slurry.

To thicken potato soup, heat 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of flour, stirring constantly, to make a roux, then add it to the soup. Heat the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the soup is as thick as you'd like it.

Add cheese.

For a baked potato soup flavor, add grated cheddar cheese near the end of the cooking process, which will thicken the thin soup as the cheese melts. Whisk the soup continuously to avoid the soup from looking separated or like it will curdle and turn off the heat once the cheese melts.

Reheat the soup to a gentle simmer (add some extra stock at this point if the soup is too thick for your liking), then pour into warmed bowls. Drizzle the remaining cream over each serving, top with a little pile of buttered leeks and a scattering of chives and black pepper and serve at once.

How do you keep leek and potato soup from getting gluey? ›

It's kind of like caramelising onions for French Onion Soup – except we don't take it as far. After that, just plonk the potatoes and stock in, simmer until the potato is literally crumbling (the softer they are, the less blending we have to do = better soup texture, no risk of “gluey soup”).

A leek soup recipe typically calls for keeping the white ends and discarding the green tops, but add the tops to the mix and you'll have an extra green layer of flavour. Cut the greens along the grain thinly, shred them if possible and add them to your soup before the other ingredients.

Adding an acid like vinegar or lemon juice and incorporating fresh herbs can also help add flavor to a potato soup. While you may not need to implement all of these strategies, it's good to keep them in the back of your mind for when you realize your next pot of soup needs a flavor boost.

Let it evaporate and cook longer.

If you find that your homemade or store-bought broth is thin and bland, you can concentrate its flavors by cooking it a little bit longer." Make sure to remove the lid or tilt it slightly to let the steam escape.

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

The first is to caramelize the vegetables, either in your soup pot or in the oven, to sweeten them and condense their juices. Next, add plenty of aromatics to the pot — herbs, spices, garlic, onions and the like — and let everything simmer for a long time to blend the flavors.