My favorite (above) is Spring Peas, yum!
What is the trick? Leeks!
You can literally cook any vegetable with some sautéed leeks, water, and bouillon, blend it smooth, and garnish it with fresh herbs to make a stunningly delicious and beautiful soup!
Quick Leek & Any-Vegetable Blended Soup (serves 4 as a starter)
- 2 cups leeks, white and light green parts, sliced
- 2 bouillon cubes + 1 quart water (or sub with 1 quart of your favorite stock)
- 3 cups your favorite chopped vegetable (Fresh spring peas are awesome!)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: fresh herbs or seeds for garnish
Method: Sauté the leeks in a little oil or water until soft. Add the chopped vegetable, bouillon cubes, and water (or stock). Simmer until the vegetable is tender, about 15–20 minutes. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender). Season to taste.
It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free if using gluten-free bouillon/stock, and looks gorgeous served with a swirl of coconut milk for butternut and carrot soups, or a drizzle of olive oil, some toasted pumpkin seeds or fresh herbs.
Pro tip: Make it ahead – the flavors meld beautifully, and it reheats perfectly!
Following is a simple visual of the process.
For this soup we’ll make Tomato and Basil. You can use fresh or canned, peeled and seeded tomatoes.
Chop off the dark green parts of the leeks, wash thoroughly and set aside for flavoring roasts or when you want deep onion flavor.
Clean and slice the white and light green parts for your soup…
Use your favorite oilive oil and bouillon…
Sauté your leeks until softened…
From this point in the recipe you can use any vegetable or combination of vegetables you like, such as;
- Courgettes (Zucchini) garnished with minced, fresh rosemary
- Butternut squash garnished with a dusting of Five-Spice powder and a swirl of coconut milk
- Potatoes garnished with fresh dill and swirled with cream or milk alternative
- Red Peppers garnished with a dusting of smoked paprika and micro greens
For this recipe I’m adding tomatoes and fresh basil and cooking only five minutes to keep the fresh flavor.
Add in your chosen vegetable (in this case, tomato and fresh basil) and cook until tender…
Blend…
Garnish and serve!
