Vegan goulash soup
You're craving goulash soup, but think it's impossible to make it vegan? Then let me tell you: semmi gond! That's Hungarian for: don't worry! Today we're cooking a hearty, warming soup that's completely plant-based, but just as delicious as goulash soup.
- For the goulash:
- 3 onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 500 g of waxy potatoes
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 carrots
- 200 g Austernpilze
- 560g (2 Doses) Vegan Mock Duck
- 2 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 tsp hot paprika powder
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 liter of vegetable broth (e.g. from Naturata)
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt
- Pfeffer
- Vegetable oil for frying
- To serve:
- vegan sour cream
- fresh parsley
- Liquid seasoning (e.g. from Naturata)
- First, chop the vegetables. Peel the onions, halve them, and slice them. Peel and finely dice the garlic cloves, cut the potatoes into small pieces, the bell peppers into thin strips, and the carrots into slices. Tear the oyster mushrooms into strips with your hands.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pot and first fry the vegan mock duck until well browned (if the pieces are too large, cut them into smaller pieces beforehand). Then remove from the pot and set aside briefly. Be sure to leave the browned bits in the pot and do not clean the pot in between.
- Add a little more vegetable oil to the pot, then add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes, along with the paprika and marjoram. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and slightly softened. Return the vegan mock duck to the pot and stir in the tomato paste. Continue to sauté for about 3–4 minutes, until it darkens.
- Then deglaze everything with vegetable broth, add bay leaves, and season the soup with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but still firm to the bite.
- Season the vegan goulash soup with salt and pepper before serving and thicken with a little cornstarch if desired. Top with vegan sour cream, fresh parsley, and liquid seasoning before serving.
Perhaps some of you are familiar with classic goulash soup from a holiday in Hungary, where it originated – in Hungary, not on your holiday. There, pieces of meat float in a dark, reddish, steaming broth with a wonderfully aromatic scent. However, this isn't exactly a quick dinner; it typically simmers for up to two hours to ensure the meat becomes exceptionally tender. Conveniently, our soup today is completely meat-free, so it will be ready a bit sooner.
Instead of meat, we use mock duck, which you can find in Asian supermarkets. It's one of our favorite alternatives because it has a really unique texture and absorbs spices and other flavors very well. However, if you can't find mock duck, you can also make the vegan goulash soup with tofu, for example, or go completely vegetable-based and use even more mushrooms and bell peppers instead.
Although the name "goulash soup" emphasizes the meat component of the dish, the broth actually makes up just as much of the soup's flavor. Of course, paprika powder is essential, but so are onion and garlic for aromatics, tomato paste for umami flavor, and a little marjoram and bay leaves. For the actual liquid, we use Naturata's organic vegetable broth. It's yeast-, gluten-, and palm oil-free and is very quick and easy to prepare.
After the soup has simmered sufficiently, been topped with vegan sour cream and parsley, and is now on the table, it's in for an extra boost of flavor. That's where it meets Naturata's liquid seasoning. And now we'll see if this bottle also instantly evokes childhood memories for you. In some families, it was ALWAYS on the table. And you don't have to do without it today either, because the liquid seasoning is vegan (of course!), organic, and even gluten-free. So welcome back to the table, little bottle! May you add a comforting touch to our vegan goulash soup and many other dishes from now on.
