This vegan recipe for traditional Scottish potato and leek soup with toasted oats is super easy and quick to prepare yet packed with wholesome nutrition and deliciousness.
Perfect for lunch, dinner, supper or even a snack, a bowl of leek and potato soup is guaranteed to warm the family up on chilly days and fill hungry tummies! All whilst being amazingly budget-friendly.
Quick Origins Of Leek And Potato Soup
Since leeks appeared on the British Isles sometime before the middle ages, they have become a very important food crop. Wales even has the leek as part of their National emblem along with the daffodil. In Ireland leeks are a prominent ingredient within some of their traditional dishes including Irish leek and oatmeal broth (vegan recipe), as well as featuring within some of the Irish legends.
In Scotland leeks as a crop are ideal as they are hardy and can cope well with the variant weather and poorer soils. As such leeks feature in many traditional Scottish meals including Scotland's national soup cock-a-leekie, which is a chicken broth with leeks. Oats and barley, also popular Scottish crops, have been enriching Scottish broths for centuries and marry up with leeks beautifully.
Over in the US Vichyssoise is a tasty leek and potato soup that is usually blended and served chilled. It is popularly claimed that Vichyssoise soup was developed by a French chef working in the New York Ritz restaurant in the 1950s who was looking for a refreshing dish to cool his customers during the hotter months.
Although leeks go even further back as recipes containing leeks were discovered in the ancient Roman cook book Apicius. And there is evidence that leeks may have originated in Egypt, and were so highly regarded as to be used as a type of money to pay for other items.
Vegan Scottish Traditional Potato And Leek Soup With Toasted Oats
Preparing this vegan Scottish potato and leek soup is really easy. First the sliced leeks, onions, garlic, cubed potatoes and carrots are sautéed for 15 minutes using either a tablespoon of olive oil or half a cup of veggie stock.
Next the pearl barley is mixed through before the veggie stock is poured in the pot. A sprinkle of salt and pepper is also mixed through, and everything is brought to a simmer for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes rolled oats are tipped into the soup and cooked for a further 5 minutes. Now all that needs doing is for the plant milk to be poured into the soup, mixed well, brought up to a gentle simmer and heated for just a few minutes.
That's it for the soup, it will be good to go after the seasoning is checked.
Whilst the soup is gently bubbling, preferably before the oats and milk are added near the end of cooking, the rolled oats for the toasted oats can be added to a small pan. A pinch of salt and pepper is mixed through the oats and heated until the oat mix is very hot. The oats may start to sound like they are going to pop.
The oats are shook and stirred often to prevent burning, and once they start to brown the pan can be removed from the heat. Continue to shake the oats and stir to ensure that they continue to toast and take on golden hues. The toasted oats don't need to be served hot and can just sit in the pan or a little dish until the soup is ready.
How To Prepare Scottish Potato And Leek Soup With Toasted Oats
Recipe Notes And FAQS
Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days, within a covered container in the fridge.
Or frozen for up to 3 months.
The texture and look may change slightly with being frozen especially as there is plant milk within the soup but it won't affect the taste.
Place the leftover soup in a saucepan or suitable pot, and gently bring to a simmer. Heat for 2-3 minutes being careful not to fast boil as then the plant milk may split. Although if it does just mix well, the flavours are still great.
This soup is a filling, satisfying, hearty soup so is suitable for a main meal along with:
* your favourite crusty bread, bread rolls, pitta breads, baguette, etc
* 3 ingredient quick no yeast dinner rolls
* 3 ingredient quick flat breads
* Irish traditional wholemeal soda bread ( no yeast and no knead recipe)
* Traditional Scottish oatcakes and a wee wedge of vegan cheese is a delicious accompaniment ( no oil oatcake recipe also available)
* bread sticks
* rice cakes/ corn cakes/ rye cakes
* saltine crackers
* American biscuits
* plain British scones
* cornbread
* vegan garlic bread
With a few considerations, yes.
As barley and oats are not gluten-free, barley will need to be replaced with a gluten-free grain such as rice, and the oats will need to be subbed for gluten-free certified oats.
Of course the oats and barley can be simply omitted but the soup will be different as the oats and barley bring creaminess, and thicken up the soup, So it is best to replace with gluten-free alternatives if possible.
More Delicious Traditional Scottish Vegan Soups:
Vegan Cock-a-leekie (Scotland's National Soup!)
Traditional Scottish Potato Leek Soup With Toasted Oats
Equipment
- Non-stick soup pot or similar
- Non-stick pan/fry pan
Ingredients
To sauté veggies:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or use ½ cup of veggie stock, use more veggie stock if necessary, also use a little stock along with the olive oil if the pot dry's too much during sautéing
Initial soup ingredients:
- 400 grams leeks 2 medium, weight is after trimmed, each leek chopped in two lengthwise and then thin sliced
- 480 grams potatoes about 2 medium-large, diced, skins left on if fine
- 140 grams onion 1 medium, rough chopped,
- 130 grams carrot 1 large, rough diced
- 60 grams pearl barley rinsed
- 4 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons of dried garlic
- 1.5 litres vegan stock hot, use a vegan flavoured chicken stock if available
Mix through soup near end of cooking:
- 60 grams rolled oats the type used for ordinary porridge (not Irish oatmeal/Steel-cut oats)
- 140 ml plant milk
Toasted oat garnish:
- 4 tablespoons rolled oats plus a pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil or ½ cup of veggie stock in the non-stick pot, over a medium heat.
- Add the leeks, onion, garlic, carrot and potatoes. Sauté for 15 minutes, stir frequently. Add a little extra veggie stock if the pot becomes too dry. Also add a little extra stock if using olive oil if needed, as extra oil isn't necessary.
- Stir through the pearl barley and pour in the hot veggie stock. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes.
- Tip in the rolled oats and mix well. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Pour in the plant milk and heat through for a few minutes. Don't fast boil.
- Check seasoning before serving. And sprinkle toasted oats over each serving.
Toast the rolled oats while the soup simmers:
- Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat until its very hot. Add the rolled oats along with a little salt and pepper, and shake and stir the mix until the oats take on golden hues. Once the pan is very hot and you may hear the sound of the oats starting to pop, remove from the heat and continue to shake and stir until nicely coloured.
- Set aside in a small dish or leave in the pan (off the heat), until the soup is ready.
Notes
- Nutritional data is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days, within a covered container in the fridge. Or frozen for up to 3 months. The texture and look may change slightly with being frozen especially as there is plant milk within the soup but it won't affect the taste.
- Place the leftover soup in a saucepan or suitable pot, and gently bring to a simmer. Heat for 2-3 minutes being careful not to fast boil as then the plant milk may split. Although if it does just mix well, the flavours are still great.
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