Pot Likker Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with leftover pot likker? ›

The concentrated liquid left behind after boiling greens or beans maintains roots deep in Southern culture and cooking traditions. Just like with chicken or beef stock, potlikker layers flavors and can be used as a base for everything from soups to gravies to dressings.

Pot liquor, sometimes spelled potlikker or pot likker, is the liquid that is left behind after boiling greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens) or beans.

Milk or Half-and-Half: This is the other magical ingredient that turns your homemade chicken noodle soup into the creamiest soup ever. Use 1 cup of whole milk or 1 cup of half-and-half.

There are many ways to thicken cauliflower soup. Some recipes lean on heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or coconut milk to thicken the soup and make it creamy. Others blend in cooked potatoes with the cauliflower.

Don't toss that broth! Potlikker — the liquid left behind after boiling collards — is loaded with vitamins and minerals. Plus, it's delicious.

Although juicing collard greens is not super popular, raw collard greens are a great addition to any juice. They are full of calcium, and folate, and are a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Cruciferous vegetables like collards are also known for their anticancer effects.

This might seem like an unusual addition if you're new to making collard greens, but the vinegar adds a welcome tangy note that brightens the dish and balances out the salty, savory flavors. A tablespoon of sugar also helps balance out the greens' potential bitterness.

Leftover water (pot liquor) from greens or cabbage makes excellent stock to boil rice in for various dishes. My personal favorite is using it to make dirty rice. Pot liquor! Or potlikker if you prefer, is not only delicious but also VERY nutritious, loaded with vitamin C, vitamin K and iron.

Baking soda has infinite uses in cooking and beyond: It's a leavening agent, an odor neutralizer, and an antacid to name a few. In the case of collard greens, baking soda's utility is threefold, serving as a flavor enhancer, a tenderizer, and a color protector.

Cornstarch, or corn flour, can be used to thicken soup through its high starch content. Cornstarch is a great thickener for soup because only a little bit is needed to significantly thicken a soup, and it will not affect the flavor profile of the soup.

Does evaporated milk help thicken soup? ›

Keep in mind that this evaporated milk will make your dish taste richer, but it won't actually thicken the soup. You can always use a bit of flour or cornstarch if you're missing that added texture. Otherwise, you'll find evaporated milk the best dairy addition for your classic slow cooker favorites.

Add a swirl of heavy cream, sour cream, or Greek yogurt (or substitute coconut milk for dairy-free, vegan carrot soup) for a creamy carrot soup. If you have fresh herbs like chives or cilantro, use them as a garnish along with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

So, if your cauliflower soup is bland it is likely due to a lack of seasoning. Take time to properly season the soup with salt and black pepper and your favorite spices.

For example, Nguyen says if you're making chicken soup, blending some of the celery, carrots, and onions (aka, mirepoix, a fundamental trifecta of ingredients for many soup recipes) can help add some consistency and richness to a typically liquidy soup.

While everyone's tolerance is different, too much cauliflower can create G.I. distress, like excess gas and bloating. “Make sure to drink enough water to move it through your system,” suggests Lincoln. Cooking it can also dial back digestion woes.

The classic use for collard water/pot liquor is to spoon some over cornbread. It is really salty when using ham hocks as the side meat. If you blanche the hocks in water to cover, you remove the excess salt from the eventual pot liquor. Still plenty seasoned, but drinkable.

While slow cooking, the meat, bone marrow, and fat fell apart into the greens. The rich, meat-flavored broth, or pot liquor, left behind after serving the greens, contained high amounts of essential vitamins and minerals including iron, vitamin A and vitamin C.

Store cooked (and cooled) collard greens in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat on the stove or in increments in the microwave. You can freeze these southern collard greens in zip-top freezer bags for up to 6 months.

or pot·lik·er, pot·lik·ker

Dialect. a worthless or disgusting person or animal.