Traditional Irish Leek and Potato Soup • pub recipe! (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.

Unlike a chunky vegetable soup commonly found in the US, Irish Vegetable Soup is a blended soup made of potatoes, leeks, carrots, and onions that feels creamy and comforting without any cream!

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.

Vichyssoise (/ˌvɪʃiˈswɑːz/ VISH-ee-SWAHZ, French: [viʃiswaz]) is a soup made of cooked and puréed leeks, potatoes, onions and cream. It is served chilled and garnished with chopped chives.

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.

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.

Potatoes – use starchy or all rounders, they fall apart when simmered which means less blending for creamy soup = less risk of gluey 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.

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.

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.

What does vichyssoise mean in French? ›

[viʃiswaz ] feminine noun. (Cookery) (= soupe) vichyssoise ⧫ cream of leek and potato soup. Collins French-English Dictionary © by HarperCollins Publishers.

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.

If your broth tastes thin and bland, you may want to cook and let it evaporate for longer. That helps concentrate its flavors and gives you a better-tasting soup broth. Be sure to remove the lid to let the steam escape.

Italian Seasoning: a classic mixture of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil, and sage goes well with almost any fresh vegetables. Bay Leaf: you should only need one for this big batch of soup, a little goes a long way with bay leaves, giving your soup a great depth of flavor.