The recipe: Remove the coarse part of the green leaves from 3 medium-sized leeks. Chop the leeks roughly. Warm a thick slice of butter, about 30g, together with 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep pan. Add the leeks, then cover with a lid. Cook over a low to moderate heat until the leeks are soft, but without browning them.
Trim and thickly slice a medium-sized cauliflower, about 1kg in weight, then add to the leeks. Stir briefly then pour in 1 litre of vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Add a couple of bay leaves and a little salt, lower the heat and leave the leeks and cauliflower to simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft. (I added about 1/2 tsp of celery seed and two cloves of crushed garlic.)
Blitz half of the mixture in a blender until really smooth. Add a handful of parsley – about 20g – to the remainder and process in the blender to a thick, rough-textured consistency. Mix the two together and check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Spread 4 slices of
sourdough bread with either a little butter or olive oil and place on a
grill pan, toasting one side to a light crispness. Turn them over and
cover the other side with thick slices of cheese, then return to the
grill until melted. Divide the soup between shallow bowls, then float
the cheese toasts on top. A few herbs, or small salad leaves, such as
young red chard or watercress, can be scattered over as you wish.
The trick: Leeks burn easily, so I
cook them in a little butter and oil under a lid. To keep them soft and
pale, place a disc of greaseproof paper or baking parchment over the
top of them, then cover with a lid, to encourage them to steam as they
cook. If you want to make this for 2 decent-sized toasts to float on
your soup you will need about 150g of cheese – I used Shropshire Blue.
Double the amount of bread and cheese if you are making it for 4.
The twist: Leek and broccoli works well, too, and you can include all but the very toughest pieces of stalk. There is much flavour there. To spice things up a little, grate fresh horseradish into the soup at the end – about 1 tbsp should do it.
Notes/Results: Creamy, savory, a simple soup that is a terrific foil for the cheesy toast on top. I did add a little bit more flavor with celery seed and garlic and used some leftover tarragon leaves on the top. Replace the butter and cheese with vegan versions and this creamy sup will be vegan. I would happily make it again.
Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs for Hasta La Vista 2020 week.
Let's take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here:
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared Italian Spinach and Garlic Soup saying, "Spinach and garlic are a fabulous
combination that tastes great in this simple easy immune boosting soup.
Just four ingredients plus the seasoning will cook up very quickly and
provide all the benefits of greens plus the antioxidants of garlic.
Truly a healthy and tasty combination."
(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:
- Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.
On your entry post (on your blog):
- Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
- You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).
Have a happy, healthy week and 2021!
It's amazing how many different ways one can make soup..I like the combination of cauliflower and leeks in your soup and the potatoes and leeks in Shaheen's soup.
ReplyDeleteI love leek and potato soup, but this version sounds really good too. Lots of choices.
ReplyDeleteAh another way with leeks, sound scrummy. Thank you for the warm welcome back, I am hoping to be able to participate every other week now, as I am getting back into make comforting soups or salad for work lunches at the computer table at home. I am also admiring the green in Judee's soup, its really looks lush.
ReplyDeleteI love the twist of using cauliflower in place of potatoes. Is there anything cauliflower can't do? Of course, the cheesy toast on top doesn't hurt, does it?
ReplyDeleteLove to see lots of leeks in this post. They have so much flavor, but are so underdone.