Smokey Potato, Leek and Sweetcorn Soup, with Coconut Bacon and Parsley

Once in a while, ‘the hunger’ strikes late at night after a long, exhausting day, and you find yourself in a kitchen with 2 potatoes, 2 leeks and 2 tins of sweetcorn. That, and a condiment collection that would put any store to shame.

After consecutive weeks of travelling, my cupboards were empty, and the last remaining bread had sprouted its own not-so-little eco-system. The hollow echo of opening a once sprawling refrigerator still haunts me. At that point I realised that I could thank my lucky stars I had the foresight to dispose of all the perishables before I rushed to the airport.

First things first: We need to eat before that hungry growl becomes a hangry one… I have it! Mashed potatoes or baked potatoes with sautéed leek and sweetcorn! Nope. That would require cheese- A scarce commodity if you haven’t been to the store in some time. Our only other (reasonable) alternative was to soup it up. Potato and leek soup is a classic comfort food, right? And so this chunky, chowder-esque vegan soup came to be. Hans took such a liking to it, that I think we made more advanced/ refined versions of it, another dozen times in the coming months. It is especially comforting in chilly weather, and near impossible to mess it up.

This recipe is vegan friendly, but if you’re an everytarian like Hans (who swears that bacon makes everything better), feel free to load your bowl with regular bacon pieces.

Potato, leek and sweetcorn soup with Italian flat leaf parsley

Ingredients  (for the upgraded version)

• 2 large leeks
• 2  potatoes
• 1 tin creamed corn
• 1 tin sweet corn
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 1 tsp salt
• Large handful flat leaf parsley, chopped (and some for garnish)
• Fakin bacon smoked coconut bacon alternative for garnish
• 2 tsp Smoke extract
• 1 tbsp. Soy sauce
• Salt/ soy to taste

Preparing your Potato, Leek and Sweetcorn soup

Method

• Pierce potato skins several times with a fork. In a pot with salted, boiling water, boil potatoes until cooked. Approximately 20-25 minutes.
• While the potatoes boil, slice leeks into thin rings, and sauté over medium heat in olive oil, until tender, slightly browned and turning transparent.
• Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and blend the vegetable stock and leek mixture to a finer consistency using an immersion blender or your food processor.  Set aside.
• Peel and slice the cooked potatoes into 3mm slices. Don’t be concerned if the thin slices break apart.
• Add the sliced potatoes, creamed sweetcorn and sweetcorn kernels, soy sauce and parsley to the stock mixture and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• Break larger potato pieces apart by gently pressing them down in the saucepan with a potato masher or slotted spatula.
• Remove from heat, add smoke extract and stir through.
• Serve warm with a generous topping of smoked coconut bacon alternative and garnish with fresh parsley.

Delicious, smokey potato, leek and sweetcorn soup for those brrrrrr winter evenings

Bon Appetit!