Vegan Potato Leek Soup Recipe | Mindful Avocado (2024)

FAQs

Why does my leek and potato soup taste bitter? ›

Leeks, like onions, can become bitter if they're cooked for too long or at too high a heat. Make sure to sauté leeks over medium heat until they are soft and translucent, not browned. Another reason could be using the green parts of the leek, which are more fibrous and have a stronger flavor.

Most likely, your potato leek soup tastes bland because you haven't added enough salt throughout the cooking process. Potatoes LOVE salt at every opportunity. Season them before roasting to really bring out their flavor. If you season only at the end, your soup will just taste salty — not flavorful.

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.

Potatoes are delicate in that they can be over mashed and over blended. This causes their starches to be released and turn into a gluey, gummy mess. Blend until just smooth, then stop. Do you use the white or green part of a leek in soup?

Sweetness can help balance bitterness, so consider adding ingredients like carrots, onions, or a small amount of sugar or honey. Acidic ingredients like tomatoes or a splash of vinegar can also help balance flavors.

Cheese: I recommend a good sharp cheddar cheese here for maximum flavor. Greek yogurt or sour cream: To make the soup extra-creamy. Salt and pepper: Add in as much as you need at the end to season your soup well.

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

Perhaps the simplest approach is to flavor your soup with salt throughout the cooking process. Instead of waiting until the end of cooking to realize your soup lacks taste, you can add a bit of salt during each phase of cooking. Doing so will help bring out the flavors of each of the ingredients.

Onions, artichokes, garlic and leeks all contain fructans – carbs that can cause gas and bloating.

Cornstarch. 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. Then the slurry can be stirred into a simmering soup, a bit at a time to set the final consistency.

Why is my leek and potato soup brown? ›

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.

Another option for thickening soup is by using dairy like sour cream or yogurt. Start with a small dollop and stir before checking the consistency and adding more. We recommend using plain yogurt so you don't alter the taste of the soup. You can also use cream if you prefer.

Potato-Leek Soup v2.

For an extra-smooth soup, press it through a chinois or a fine mesh strainer using the bottom of a ladle. Sure, it's the gluier than its pressed brother, but as I said, sometimes that really doesn't bother me.

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.

If you need to use a food processor, only blend about ⅓ of the soup in short pulses to preserve some of those tasty potato chunks. This method prevents the potatoes from releasing too much starch, keeping your soup smooth.

To soften the leaves and further remove the bitter taste, it is advisable to boil alone in ordinary water for 10 to 15 minutes, most people like to add a little quantity of edible potash to hasten this process but I highly advise against it.

The leeks will give the soup it's sweet taste.

While they're perfectly edible, the dark green part of a leek is typically tougher, chewier, and more bitter than the lighter green and white pieces of the vegetable.

Potatoes with green spots are more likely to contain the toxin solanine, which can cause digestive symptoms if consumed. Preparing them correctly may reduce solanine levels. The green color and bitter taste that potatoes occasionally develop can indicate the presence of a toxin.