Bland soup

lifestyle

Hi I tried my hand at soup today...baby potatoes carrots red onion and garlic all boiled up then added some veg stock. It was ok but just a little bland.does anyone have any suggestions please to give it a little kick?

CJhaughey

A small bit of Chorizo finely chopped into the onions as you sweat them off helps. Or a bit of smoked belly pork the same way.

MissFlitworth

On that note, did you sweat your veggies off at the start? You'll get more depth of flavour to your soup if you do. Also, even if you use a stock cube you may need to add salt at the end. Sometimes I add a little lemon juice to my soups towards the end to brighten the flavour up a bit

pwurple

Cook your onions down for ages at the start.

My best soup tip was given to me years ago... At the very end, when everything is cooked and seasoned, put in a well minced clove of raw garlic. It zings everything up!

HeidiHeidi

Instead of stock cubes (which I find incredibly salty), I use those Knorr stock pots (which may be equally salty for all I know!) - there's a herby one which gives fantastic flavour to veggie soups.

And also, sweating of the veggies first.

The Hill Billy

You could also try roasting your veg as that'll also give it more depth of flavour.

DonQuigleone

Generally, I'd look at the amount of salt. Pour out a bit of the soup, and experiment with different amounts of salt to figure out what the best amount is.

Salt tends to bring out the flavour of most soups.

You could also do as the Chinese do, and try adding Soy Sauce.

gotthebug

Had this problem 2 and boiling for too long was my problem .found that cook the oinions and veg for longer but once the liquid is added only cook for the min amount time needed

Tree

I'd recommend variations on the theme of curry powder as well as stock.

Dizzyblonde

Sweating or roasting your veg will make a huge difference to the flavour of your soup. I use chicken stock cubes rather than vegetable ones because I think they add more flavour.
The ratio of veg to stock is important too - a good rule to use is 500g of veg to 1litre of stock.
There are some great recipes and tips in the Souper Soup Thread

riffmongous

I'm definitely not an expert but as mentioned above anytime I use garlic I cut it up and add it only right at the end, two minutes or so before I stop cooking, gives a strong flavour.

Stheno

I find having a good "base" carrot/onion/celery, sweated well, really add to the sweetness/depth of a soup.

Also I'd rarely boil the heck out of soup, rather I let everything go mushy and soft and let the flavours reach a point that I like.

At that point I take the stuff off the heat, let it cool and liquidise.

riffmongous

Personally too I'd prefer normal onions to red in a soup and a bit of leek, for some extra flavour.

Mellor

As others have suggested, it's probably as simple as the salt content.
Dish out some samples and season with salt. Get it right and then season the whole batch.

Alun

Like others have said first sweat the vegetables or roast them to bring out the flavour. A bit of salt helps at this stage and keep the heat low and keep the lid on. Then add the stock, not at the end, and SIMMER not boil again with the lid on until the vegetables are tender. Don't be afraid of seasoning properly it won't kill you or make your blood vessels explode despite what the scaremongers say.

Overflow

Add some white pepper and salt to give it a kick !

Shenshen

Surpirsed nobody mentioned celery/celeriac/lovage so far?

Personally, I dislike celery quite a bit, but I will add just a little bit to any soup I make. Otherwise it doesn't really taste like soup.
Alternatively, go the German way and use some celeriac (about 1/4 of a root). It's much milder than celery, but the flavour is similar.
Or do what my gran used to do, add a small handful of chopped lovage.

Other than that, yes, do sweat off your vegetables, and salt is a god friend of any soup.
A pinch of smoked paprika in a normal vegetable soup, a pinch of curry in a cauliflower soup or a pinch of chili in a butternut squash soup never go amiss either

squonk

I tend to sweat off my onions in some butter and oil first. Once they're translucent I start to add the rest of my veg, let them sweat a small while and then add the stock. I also add some spices as well. Generally garlic, mixed herbs, perhaps a bit of chilli and some cinnamon. I like cinnamon

lifestyle

Thank you all for the replies. I am only starting out cooking meals from scratch...up to now I was a microwave queen! I will try all your suggestions

Overflow

When adding any salt, pepper or whatever spices you are using, just add a small amount, taste and repeat until you get it right.

JPA

Carrot/onion/celery is the base flavour for many soups.

Loire

lifestyle wrote: »

Hi I tried my hand at soup today...baby potatoes carrots red onion and garlic all boiled up then added some veg stock. It was ok but just a little bland.does anyone have any suggestions please to give it a little kick?

Hi Lifestyle,

As others have said, sweat the veg first. I use a bit of butter. You'll need to stir regularly as otherwise the potato will stick to the pot. I then add the stock - not to much actually and simmer for about 10 mins or so. Don't overcook. When it comes to blending then I try not to blend too much - I like to leave some of the vegetable pieces (quite small at this stage) present. If the soup is too think I add some water bit by bit until I have the right thickness - this is why I don't add too much stock at the start.

My basic ingredients are

2 medium potatos
1 large onion
3 carrots
2 sticks of celery
Stock

I made this soup last night and use a Kallo organic veg stock cube for the first time and it turned out really well. Just had a bowl there for lunch!

Alun

That's a good tip to not add too much stock, you can add more quite easily, it's a bit more difficult to take it out if you've put too much in

On the sweating of the veg, I'd say if stuff is sticking you've got the heat a bit too high, you're not trying to fry the veg, just bring out the flavour, that's why I said in my post above to add a bit of salt at this stage. It seems to draw out the flavours easier then.

I also sometimes prefer a chunkier soup, but what I do is fish out some of the veg and put it aside, blitz the rest and then add the saved veg back again.

Curry Addict

i like a dash of this in my soup, particularly chicken soup....

duploelabs

Something to do if you're seeking a challenge to your soup making

http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/caramelized-carrot-soup-no-centrifuge-necessary/

lifestyle

I made some soup in the last week. I sweated the veg this time and added celery. I also did not add as much stock, it was lovely : )