Potato Leek Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my potato leek soup bland? ›

Why is my potato and leek soup bland? Although leeks are known for its powerful taste, your potato and leek soup can occasionally come out 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.

Let's test her vichyssoise recipe to find out! Soup was one of Julia Child's favorite things to eat, and reportedly, her absolute favorite was vichyssoise.

Even at its most difficult, potato-leek soup is pretty darn easy to make. It requires only a few ingredients—leeks, butter, potatoes, broth, cream, and some aromatics—and some very simple knife skills and cooking techniques. I start mine the classic way, with leeks slowly cooked down in butter.

Add the leeks to the pot, lowering the heat if necessary and saute for 10-15 minutes , or until soft and translucent. Be careful not to burn the leeks, as they will impart a bitter taste to the soup. The excess liquid from cleaning the leeks should help prevent any burning.

Foods that have a great deal of acidity, like lemon juice, vinegar, white wine, and tomato puree, can help liven up the flavor of bland-tasting bone and other broths. "The acidity of these ingredients works to complement and enhance the broth's flavors, not mask it.

For their first meal in France, Paul ordered oysters, sole meunière and a green salad. Child devoured the meal, calling it “perfection.” Alex Prud'homme, Child's grandnephew and cowriter of her memoir, “My Life in France,” opened the book with this now famous scene.

Child died just two days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal was a bowl of French onion soup prepared by her assistant, who reportedly got a few tips on how it could have been improved.

Vichyssoise. Well-known as one of Julia Child's favorite dishes, this chilled leek and potato soup is startling in its simplicity. Aside from the leek, potato, and water, Child's version of the soup calls for barely any additional ingredients.

The bulbs and lighter green leaves are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. The darker green leaves are much tougher and along with the roots, should be removed before eating or cooking.

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.

How can I thicken my leek and potato soup? ›

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.

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. It's for this reason, we like to blend the soup in batches (so if we over-blend a little it won't ruin the whole thing!) and only until it's just smooth.

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.

Lastly, the most common substitute for leeks is the ultimate kitchen staple; onions. White and sweet onions are the best alternatives for leeks, due to their mild flavor.

If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.

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.

A general rule of thumb, when you know you've added enough salt but something still tastes bland, is to add a bit of acid. Not much! You don't want to make it sour, but some sour cream or yogurt, or even just a few drops of vinegar, might be what you need. I agree with boiling garlic with the potatoes.

I found that the addition of Balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire to be an essential layer of flavor to really give the broth the depth that it needs. Some French Onion soup recipes call for white wine, others red.