Leek & potato soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

• Cooking oil.
• 4oz potatoes.
• 1 medium leek.
• 1 pint vegetable stock.
• Ground pepper to season.
• 1-2 slices of white bread - for the croutons (optional).
• Grated vegan cheese to garnish (optional - available from many health food shops that have a fridge).

Method

Soup

1. Wash the potatoes (don't peel them - there's loads of good stuff in the skin!) and cubed them to about 1cm cubes.
2. Chop the leeks and rinse them.
3. Coat the bottom of a pan with a thin layer of cooking oil and warm it up on a medium heat.
4. Add the potatoes and leeks. Cook until they start to soften - around 3 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and then simmer.
6. Once the vegetables are soft, remove from the heat, add seasoning if you want.
7. Use a blender to make the soup into a smooth consistency. You can add more water to make it thinner, or reheat and simmer to make it thicker.

Croutons

1. Cut a the bread into 1-2cm cubes.
2. Coat a frying pan with oil and put on a medium-hot heat. You'll know when the oil is hot enough by holding a piece of bread in it for 1-2 seconds. If the oil bubbles, it's hot enough.
3. Put the bread into the frying pan. Turn regularly. When it's crispy brown, it's done.

That's it. Done! Serve the soup with croutons and grated cheese. It's also excellent with more bread!

Variation

Sprinkle the croutons with a teaspoon of paprika when they're half cook for that extra flavour hit.

General vegan cooking tips