Vegan Cheese and Leek Soup with "Ground Meat"
This soup won't win any beauty contests, but it doesn't have to. Instead, it takes first place in the "Comfort Soups That Can't Be Missing from Any Family Gathering" category. Or is it only a real classic at family gatherings in my circle?
No wonder though, since it's very easy to prepare and fills you right up, so it works as both an appetizer and main course. In the "original recipe," processed cheese and cream are stirred in, but we're making our soup a bit lighter and aren't even looking for a greasy vegan substitute for the processed cheese – plant-based cream is completely sufficient, and with a few nutritional yeast flakes, your soup gets a savory flavor and thick consistency.
For the ground meat substitute, you can fall back on your favorite product and potentially avoid soaking soy granules. However, it's important to sauté the vegan ground meat alternative separately and only add it to the soup just before serving so it doesn't get too soft. Together with the sunflower seeds, you'll have a bit of bite, which I've often missed in this soup.
And one last little tip: You can also serve the cheese and leek soup wonderfully with boiled potatoes or, if you're feeling really crazy, mix potatoes and leftover soup, put them in a casserole dish, add cheese sauce or other plant-based cheese substitute on top, and into the oven it goes for 15 minutes at 180 °C/355 °F (convection). Delicious!
Vegan Cheese and Leek Soup with "Ground Meat"
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.5 oz) leeks
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 250 g (9 oz) vegan ground meat
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
- 50 g (1.75 oz) sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp wheat flour (type 405)
- 600 ml (2.5 cups) vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegan cooking cream
- 200 ml (0.75 cup) water (as needed)
- 0.5 tsp nutmeg
- neutral vegetable oil for frying
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Clean leeks and cut into rings. Peel onion and garlic and chop finely.
Heat vegetable oil in a pan and sauté the vegan ground meat for approx. 5 minutes over high heat. Add soy sauce and agave syrup and sauté for another 5 minutes. Finally, add sunflower seeds, season with salt and pepper to taste, and continue sautéing until the soup is ready.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large pot over low heat. Sauté onion and garlic until the onion pieces are translucent. Add leeks and sauté together for 3–4 minutes. Dust with flour and stir in the vegetable broth. Let everything simmer together for approx. 10 minutes.
Add nutritional yeast and vegan cream and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes and add more water as desired until the desired soup consistency is reached. Only add the vegan ground meat and sunflower seed mixture just before serving and season the soup with nutmeg.
