This velvety smooth vegan leek and potato soup is every bit as good as the classic French vichyssoise but without the dairy (and no coconut milk either!).
600gleeks (white and pale green parts only), sliced thinly
4garlic cloves, minced
400gfloury potatoes, cubed
900mlvegetable stock
1bay leaf
½teaspoonground nutmeg
pinchof salt and pepper
200mloat milk
Garnishes
Vegan cream or olive oil, or truffle oil
Chopped fresh chives
Instructions
Heat the olive oil and when hot, add the leeks. Stir over the heat for a minute then turn the heat down to medium low and sauté for 10-15 minutes until the leeks are translucent and only very slightly golden tinged.
2 tablespoon olive oil, 600 g leeks (white and pale green parts only)
Add the garlic and stir over the heat for another minute until fragrant.
4 garlic cloves
Add the potatoes, stock, and seasonings. Stir well and bring to the boil. Once almost boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. The cooking time depends on the variety of potato and the size of the cubes. The smaller the cubes are, the quicker it will cook.
400 g floury potatoes, 900 ml vegetable stock, 1 bay leaf, pinch of salt and pepper, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Check whether the potatoes are cooked by sticking a fork into a piece of potato or pressing a cube of potato against the side of the pan. If it is completely soft, then the soup is ready. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the oat milk.
200 ml oat milk
Choose whether to serve the soup as a chunky or smooth texture. If chunky, you can serve it as it is or if smooth, you need to blend the soup (either use a stick blender in the pan or pour the soup into a blender – but you might need to do this in two batches!). Do not over-blend or the soup might go a bit gluey.
Serve with a swirl of vegan cream or a drizzle of olive oil (or truffle oil if you want to be fancy!) and some chopped fresh chives. Mop up with crusty bread!
Vegan cream or olive oil, Chopped fresh chives
Instant Pot Instructions
Follow the steps above but do the sautéing in the Instant Pot on the sauté function. Then, when you add the potatoes, stock and seasoning, put the lid on and set the IP to high pressure for 15 minutes.
Once the soup is cooked, leave to naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes and then quick pressure release. Test the potatoes with a fork to check that they are cooked through (if not, close it again and cook on high pressure for another 2 minutes) then stir in the oat milk. Either serve as it is or blend to make a smooth soup.
Notes
If you intend to serve the soup as a chunky texture, you will need to make sure your potatoes are in neat little cubes and the leek slices are thin and consistently sized.
If the soup is too thick, you can thin it down with a little more oat milk.
Please see the blogpost for tips on how to prep and clean leeks.
It is important to use floury potatoes for this soup (not waxy potatoes). In the UK this would be something like Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes. In the US, it would be russet potatoes and here in Qatar, I like to use the Oman potatoes.