How to Make a Pureed Soup
These four steps are the keys to creating a flavorful, complex, silky smooth pureed soup.
Build a Flavor Base
Cook minced aromatic vegetables in olive oil or butter until softened.
WHY? As with most soups, you need to start with a few aromatics, such as onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sautéing the aromatics before simmering draws out their flavor, as does chopping them quite fine.
Cook Vegetables Until Tender
Add stock or broth and main vegetable and simmer gently until tender but not overcooked.
WHY? Whether making pureed potato, asparagus, or pea soup, the process is the same. Once the flavor base has been built, add the main vegetable along with stock or broth (vegetable or chicken) and simmer until tender. (There’s no need to cook the vegetables until they’re mushy and spent.) Do bulk up the starring vegetable so that the vegetable—rather than lots of flour or cream—thickens the soup.
Puree Safely
Let vegetables and cooking liquid cool for 5 minutes. Working in small batches, fill blender halfway. Hold lid in place with folded dish towel. Pulse several times, then blend continuously. Pour pureed soup into clean pot.
WHY? A blender explosion is messy and dangerous. Letting the soup cool for 5 minutes before pureeing reduces the amount of steam that can cause blender mishaps. Don’t overfill the blender, and start with the pulse function to release built-up pressure. Make sure to process each batch thoroughly and add enough cooking liquid so that the vegetables can be pureed easily.
Reheat and Enrich
Warm pureed soup in pot, simmering to thicken if necessary. Stir in dairy element, if using, and adjust seasonings.
WHY? Once dairy has been added, the soup should not simmer, so adjust the consistency of the pureed soup before adding it.
