Veg soup - needs a kick

Little Miss Cutie

Hi all,

I am trying to lose weight and as part of the new healthy me I made a pot of veg soup last night. I basically threw in all the veg I had in the fridge (brocolli, califlower, carrots etc), a couple of stock cubes & some water and then blended when it was cooked.

The problem is that the soup has no flavour. As you can guess I am not a great cook and would really appreciate if anyone could recommend something to give it a kick or some flavour?

Many thanks
Little Miss

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curry powder

chili

peppers

cumin

some herbs (oregano, basil, coriander etc)

jd

Tabasco?

catho_monster

I'd throw all the veg in a roasting tin to cook first, with some oil, salt, pepper and herbs - high heat 200o. Let them get a bit carmelised. (remember that root veg will take longer to cook than brocolli or peppers etc)
Then put the best stock cubes you can afford in boiling water, stir to dissolve, then blend the roasted veg with the stock.
You'll have a much tastier soup than if you just flung everything in the pot.

irish_goat

Roasting the veg before making it into soup can give some lovely flavour too.

olaola

Garlic - and using milk or fat free fromage frais 'creams' it up a bit.

looperman1000

I would say if you wanted to do it in a pot to not the boil the vegetables too much as this can make the vegetables watery and tasteless. Best to bring the water to the boil, then let the veg simmer. Just my tuppenceworth

Little Miss Cutie

Thanks everyone for all your advice, I will roast the veg next time. For now I will add spice as mentioned above and hopefully I can rescue this pot

Susie_Q

You wouldn't believe the difference salt will make. Put it in when you're sauteing your vegetables and another pinch after cooking if its still bland. Its the only thing I ever need to season my soups with, it's the business!

glanman

ingredients: onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery and brocolli. chop up all your veg. veg or chicken stock, salt, pepper.

medium heat pan, little bit of olive oil. Fry onions and pops til browned and a little soft, keep them moved around, about 5 mins. This is the base of all my soups.

add carrots and parsnips and keep them moved around, 5 mins,

add celery and brocolli, keep them moved around, 3 mins. Add a few twist of pepper and salt and stir. Add 3 pints of stock(preferably chicken, better flavour), bring to boil. simmer for 15-20 mins. Blend. Add more salt and pepper to your taste.

If adding milk consume pretty fast and keep refrigerated, it can go off easily.

Soup freezes well.

Also try leek and potato veg, homemade is great.

Swampy

Sweet chilli sauce. Trust me.

Little Miss Cutie

Thanks for the receipe, seem like throwing it all in a pot is not the way to go.
Thanks again for everyones help.

speedy2007

to create a base flavour, you need to cook the garlic, onion, carrot and celery (although i usually skip the celery cos i hate it ) in some oil over a medium heat. They'll become softer and the onion should turn translucent, not brown. It releases the flavour.

Then add your stock, bring to the boil and then throw in the rest of the veg and cook for another 10-15mins..depending on the kind of veg, harder veg will take longer.

Roasting is good too, but i dont usually have time for roasting.

bbcgoodfood.com have some great soup recipes too

sudzs

Try some Marigold veg stock powder.

Or a good squirt of lemon juice after you pour the soup into the bowl. This is particularly delish in green soups like brocolli or spinach but I put it in most others aswell! And might put some fresh orange juice n tomato soup too!

UrbanSea

Curry powder,as the first response said,really does make a difference. And salt.

paperclip2

Lemon juice and salt can work wonders but browning the veg is the best way to go

PaddyJules

Definately roasting the vegetables adds a huge amount of flavour to the finished soup. Go easy on the celery as it is quite a powerful flavour and can dominate the flavour too much.

Shenshen

Little Miss Cutie wrote: »

Hi all,

I am trying to lose weight and as part of the new healthy me I made a pot of veg soup last night. I basically threw in all the veg I had in the fridge (brocolli, califlower, carrots etc), a couple of stock cubes & some water and then blended when it was cooked.

The problem is that the soup has no flavour. As you can guess I am not a great cook and would really appreciate if anyone could recommend something to give it a kick or some flavour?

Many thanks
Little Miss

Half a teaspoon of marmite.

GHOST MGG2

slice up 2 large onions finely and put them on a low heat (making sure you stir them every 3-4 mins) with a tablespoon of brown sugar,after about 30 mins the onions will have caramelised and will add a depth of flavour to any soup.Roasting the Vegetables in the oven with a few teaspoons of oil is also a great flavour enhancer but dont roast the cauliflower or brocolli as this makes it bitter.The brand of stock cube/sachet also affects the taste as some are a lot saltier than others,generally use the pre made stocks bought from supermarkets is ideal.

Spanish Eyes

A drop or two of worcester sauce is great, or soy sauce.

Depending on the type of soup, (say mostly dark veg) I add tomato paste, worcester, garlic, onion, cumin, whatever I can find in the press!

Lighter soups I use garlic, onion, herbs (loadsof) and plenty of salt and pepper.

The Knorr Aromat seasoning is good for everything.

For a kick, I'd add chilli flakes and cumin.

I'm hungry now for a bowl of soup with crusty bread,,,, yum..

CJhaughey

A small (1") lump of good chorizo sausage fine dice makes a huge difference.

stripysocks85

Worcestshire sauce!

Tirabaralla

speedy2007 wrote: »

to create a base flavour, you need to cook the garlic, onion, carrot and celery (although i usually skip the celery cos i hate it ) in some oil over a medium heat. They'll become softer and the onion should turn translucent, not brown. It releases the flavour.

Then add your stock, bring to the boil and then throw in the rest of the veg and cook for another 10-15mins..depending on the kind of veg, harder veg will take longer.

Roasting is good too, but i dont usually have time for roasting.

bbcgoodfood.com have some great soup recipes too

Ohai,
I totally second this.
Where I come from many good recipes begin with stir fried onion and/or garlic.

Neyite

had the same problem with a veg soup that turned out quite bland. i added a teaspoon or so of Thai red curry paste, gave exactly the fragrant spicy kick it needed.

clived2

This is sure to add a kick