Leek and Mushroom Soup inspired by @carolynstahl´s Recipe

Hello Foodies and Hivers!

My friend @carolynstahl is a plant - based chef who cooks so many wonderful scrumptious dishes and share them here on Hive. I love her cooking style, she could invent yummy dishes spontaneously based on what´s in her pantry or what´s in her fridge. Yesterday, I had been cooking other dishes in my kitchen and thought of cooking her Mushroom and Leek Soup which had been great for our cold Spring.

My version...

Although I do not have all her ingredients, I substituted those with what I´ve had at home. I replaced the Agave nectar with Elderflower syrup, added a dash of curry powder, and used double cream. Since both hubby and I are not vegan, from time to time I cook some totally plant based dishes. Being an Asian, I grew up with my Mom´s cooking using soy sauce, so that most of my meat or veggies are marinated with it.

Marinated mushroom with soy sauce for about 10 minutes.

As far as the mushrooms are concerned, marinating them with the soy sauce added a spicy flavor instead of just adding salt. I sauteéd them in a hot pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil until they were brown and set them aside for later use. My mushrooms were not that plenty since I already cooked half of them the day before. Below is my version of the soup.

Leek and Mushroom Soup

For 2 Servings
Ingredients:
1 pack leeks about 200 grams
about 2 cups of buttom mushrooms, halved
1 tablespoon soy sauce to marinate mushrooms
1 onion , diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed or 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
1 liter vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
dash of curry powder
ground black pepper
salt
1 Knorr vegetable cube
1/2 teaspoon aceto balsamico
1 teaspoon elderflower syrup
olive oil or sunflower oil
creme fraiche

Procedures

Be sure to prepare the ingredients before hand, crush the garlic, cut the leeks and onions into small pieces (or dice them).

In a hot pan with 1 tablespoon oil, fry the garlic followed by the onions, stir fry until all become a bit soft...Add the cut leeks and stir-fry for about 10 minutes.

Then add the following:
1 liter vegetable stock
the Knorr vegetable cube
half of the sauteéd mushrooms ( keep the other half as garnish)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
a dash curry powder
1/2 teaspoon aceto balsamico
1/2 teaspoon elderflower syrup
and let boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the 2 tablespoons créme fraíche. Mix a bit then blend using a stab mixer. Add salt and ground pepper, adjust according to your taste preference.

Blend coarsely, if the soup is too thick, add a bit of water, boil once more. Mix, adjust the spices according to your taste and serve hot with baguette or white bread. We love the outcome of the soup and with hubby´s approval , I will cook this again and again.

To @carolynstahl, many thanks for this simple but great,
scrumptious soup recipe!

ENJOY THE SOUP!....See you around!

All images are owned by me, @mers

GIF by @gremayo