Leek and potato soup, stock question

[Zir]

Planning on making this tonight (never made a soup before) and I intended to make a stock with the vegetables I'll end up throwing away otherwise. Most of the recipes say to use chicken stock, and I planned to use some chicken stock cubes anyway to suit our taste, but is it advisable to make a vegetable stock and add chicken stock cubes or will the soup turn out too strong?

 

[Mimizkitchen]

I always use chicken stock for my potato soup, I never use the cubes there is just to much sodium in them, and I like to control my salt...

What type of veggies are you using for your stock? Some are good, some are not... If they are mild veggies then there should be no reason why you could not add your cubes to the stock...

 

[Zir]

Thanks. I've got carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, onion and leek. Cubes are the only way this time as the leftover chicken I've got is a biohazard now. I'm terrible with salt as it is.

 

[LPBeier]

You can use either chicken or vegetable stock for your vegetable soups. To be honest, I have never put them together.

As for what veggies to put in stock, when I worked at a large camp, I used to have the volunteers put just about everything that was clean and not dead in buckets and I would make stock (onion ends, celery, bell pepper remnants, carrots, potato (usually an added veg as we rarely had waste on them), etc. It was never exactly the same way twice but the vegetarians liked it and the others couldn't tell the difference.

 

[Andy M.]

I wouldn't use the broccoli and cauliflower in the soup. they have distinctive flavors that might interfere with the soup's anticipated flavor.

 

[Mimizkitchen]

I wouldn't use the broccoli and cauliflower in the soup. they have distinctive flavors that might interfere with the soup's anticipated flavor.

Andy beat me to it, carrots, onions, celery, leeks, all good, but cauliflower and broccoli is a no-no...

 

[ChefJune]

I wouldn't use the broccoli and cauliflower in the soup. they have distinctive flavors that might interfere with the soup's anticipated flavor.

good suggestion, Andy. the same goes for cabbage, brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables. They definitely add flavors all their own. And if you're making Potato Leek Soup, I'd surmise that's what you want it to taste like.

I always use homemade chicken stock for that soup.

 

[velochic]

I would just use the vegetable broth as is. (Stock is made with animal bones, broth is not, so I personally wouldn't call it "stock" when it's made with only vegetables... but then I'm a known stickler about terminology... blame the linguistics degree. )

I think that designating chicken stock or broth is probably to rule out other more dominant stocks or broths such as fish, lamb, beef, and pork. Chicken stock/broth is usually the most neutral of the meat stocks/broths.

The vegetable broth will have ample flavor without overpowering anything, I would think. I certainly wouldn't add one of those cubes (because of the chemicals in them).

Good luck!