Mmm, soup. It’s that time of year here where, sure, sometimes it’s lovely and sunny…but a lot of the time, it’s raining and grey and just miserable. Soup is the best cure for a miserable day! Serve it with some nice bread and it warms you up and comforts you. This soup is made from brussels sprouts and potatoes – perhaps a combination more suited to Christmas leftovers than April showers, but if you cook brussels right rather than boiling them into oblivion, they taste delicious and you’ll want to eat them all year round!
I don’t often post recipes using vegan cheese as a main ingredient, because I know how hard it is to come by, but here in the UK it’s become a lot easier! In a lot of supermarkets – Morrisons, Asda, Tesco, and some Sainsbury’s, Violife cheese is now available. Made from a coconut oil mix, it melts really well, especially in “wet” things like soups, in toasties, mixed through pasta.
I only use a small amount here – 50g in the soup, plus extra shavings on top, but I find a little goes a long way. This cheese is the one to use if you want to feed vegan cheese to non-vegans!
I also roasted the brussels first, giving them a slightly nutty, caramelised taste which really adds to the soup – and makes brussels taste so much better than just plain boiled ones!
Cheesy Brussels & Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 500g Brussels sprouts, halved (or quartered if large) – I used frozen, defrosted
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 50g vegan cheese, grated – plus extra to top
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon, or use a stock cube
- salt + pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
- Chop the Brussels in to halves or quarters, depending on the size (you want them to end up bitesize), and toss in a roasting dish with the chopped garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until starting to turn golden and crispy.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, fry the onion in the remaining olive oil until softened.
- Add the diced potato and vegetable stock powder, and pour over water to cover.
- Bring to the boil, and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
- Once the potatoes and Brussels are cooked, add three quarters of the Brussels to the potato pot along with the cheese, and extra water if needed so the vegetables are just covered.
- Either using an immersion blender or a regular blender, whizz the soup until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, and then stir through most of the remaining Brussels.
- Serve in bowls, topped with a few roasted Brussels and extra grated cheese. For extra creaminess, stir through a spoonful of vegan cream too!
Walks, Talks & Eats 