Traditional Irish Leek and Potato Soup • pub recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Why does my leek and potato soup taste bitter? ›

Why does my leek and potato soup taste bitter? A bitter taste in your leek and potato soup could come from a few possible sources. One common cause is overcooked or burnt leeks. Leeks, like onions, can become bitter if they're cooked for too long or at too high a heat.

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.

Sear or roast your potatoes to prevent gummy soup

Searing or roasting your potatoes does more than just add extra flavor to your soup. It can actually prevent your broth from becoming gluey.

Add sweet vegetables like carrots and beets. They will sweeten the broth and deepen its color. You might also add a bit of miso (or salt) and/or a squeeze of lemon juice. Sweet, salt and acid balance bitter flavors.

Bitterness is best counteracted by salt, so give it a good seasoning. You might also try adding a little mild vinegar like white wine or cider vinegar.

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.

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.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the potatoes, and cook for 5-10 minutes until partially tender. Drain and then add them to your simmering soup for finishing. 3. Roasting: For a richer flavor and slightly crispy texture, try roasting the potatoes before adding them to the soup.

Season leeks with soy, maple, sesame oil, and mirin. Top with sliced garlic and a few knobs of butter around the outside of the pan. Add just enough stock to cover leeks halfway, bring to a boil and pop into over to roast until caramelized and tender when pierced with a knife.

Should leeks be sauteed before adding to soup? ›

Sautéing leeks before adding them to the soup can enhance their flavor and bring out their sweetness. Heat some oil or butter in a pan, then add the sliced leeks. Cook them over medium heat until they become soft and slightly caramelized. This step adds depth of flavor to your soup.

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.

If your soup tastes anything but super flavorful, you likely just need to add more salt! Toppings like fresh herbs (I like chives and thyme), croutons, bacon, or cheese help, but this soup should be flavorful on its own and salt should be the first thing you add if your soup tastes bland.

Add Water. Carolyn Brown, Executive Chef at Fischer & Wieser, says her favorite method for reducing salt is simply adding water. Be sure to add it in small increments, tasting as you go. If you find your soup is getting too thin, she suggests adding corn starch or flour to your water at a 1:1 ratio.

So what do you do if you've made the mistake of using starchy potatoes in your soup? One trick to make your potato soup a little less grainy is to add some form of dairy –- cream, milk, or even cheese. Because dairy is generally creamy in texture, that characteristic will carry over into your soup.

Unlike onions, however, leeks don't caramelize very well: instead of turning sweet, they become bitter when browned. When choosing leeks, look for ones that have a lot of white and pale green, which is the tender, edible part.

Exposure to light means they make chlorophyll, which turns them green. When this happens, an alkaloid called solanine — a bitter toxin — develops. Solanine, when eaten in large quantities, can be toxic. You need to cut or scrap any green parts of the potato flesh or skin and discard those pieces.

A lot of types of bacteria (and sometimes other microbes) produce waste products that can taste "sour." And soup/stock is a good growth medium for microbes, which is why most food safety organizations recommend only keeping soup for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish. Firstly, it balances against bitterness.