Video summary

Phil Vickery Makes the UK's Top 3 Favourite Soups | This Morning

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Presenter / source

  • Phil Vickery (appearing on This Morning).
  • Viewer voting results for the UK’s favourite soups were mentioned.
  • Phil then demonstrates a version of:
    • Classic tomato soup
    • Chicken soup
    • Leek & potato soup
  • He also comments on variants.

What the UK’s favourite soups were (from voting)

  • 1st (34%): Classic tomato soup
  • 2nd (13%): Leek & potato
  • 3rd (11%): Chicken soup
  • Mentioned: Parsnip soup (~2%)

1) Classic Tomato Soup (Phil’s method)

Ingredients (quantities not given)

  • Tomatoes (many described as needing flavour concentration)
  • Garlic
  • Tomato paste
  • Water
  • Milk powder (and/or cream; “a little of cream” mentioned)
  • Starch to thicken (later uses cornflour)
  • Sugar (not too much)
  • Vinegar (to balance sweetness)
  • Balsamic vinegar (mentioned as an addition/shake for balance)
  • Stock cubes or stock (alternative approach noted)

Technique / ratio notes mentioned

  • For a “classic” tomato style: largely tomatoes + no onions/leeks, plus water, milk powder, a little cream, and starch.
  • Tomato cooking issue: tomatoes can cause “cookout” (separation into water and solids), so starch helps bring it together.

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Hand blender (to liquidize/finish texture)
  • Mentioned: “soup maker” not necessary

Method / key steps

  1. Concentrate tomato flavour (roast/cook down)
    • Slice tomatoes; spread with garlic & tomato paste.
    • Bake at 200°C / Gas 6 for ~15–20 minutes.
    • Cook down longer for more intense flavour.
  2. Build soup base
    • Add water to the tomato mixture (“water in that pot”).
  3. Add seasoning for depth
    • Add stock/cubes (often cubes for speed).
    • Stir in more tomato paste for depth/colour.
    • Add sugar (not too much).
    • Add vinegar/balsamic to balance sweetness.
    • Cook ~10 minutes.
  4. Thicken
    • Mix cornflour with water separately; then stir into boiling soup.
    • It “sets straight away” and thickens quickly.
  5. Finish texture
    • Blend with a hand blender (“liquidize/blitz”).
    • Add cream/single cream/milk or milk powder if desired.
    • No sieve needed (“you don’t need to put it through a sieve not really”).
  6. Serving idea
    • Notes on toppings: “cheese sandwich-style” with a small amount of cheese.
    • Mentions no onions at all.
    • Optional small amount of garlic; keep sugar lower because tomatoes can taste sugary.

2) Chicken Soup (Phil’s method)

Ingredients

  • Chicken thighs
  • Leek and onion
  • White button mushrooms (secret flavour enhancer; use without too much)
  • Chicken stock cubes or stock
  • Cornflour (thickening method referenced)
  • Flour + water alternative (mentioned)
  • Granular stock cube (vs “pasty” stock cubes)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Egg white and starch for “velveting” chicken

Equipment

  • Pan(s) for cooking.
  • Blending not described for the chicken version (a liquidize step is referenced for the tomato/leek & potato variants).
  • Mentioned: “soup maker” not used.

Method / key steps

  1. Cook flavour base
    • Cook leek and onion in a pan.
    • Add white button mushrooms to bring out chicken flavour.
    • Cue: “if you don’t use too much” mushrooms.
  2. Add stock
    • Add water and stock cubes or stock.
  3. Thicken (cornflour/flour)
    • Thicken with cornflour water or flour + water.
  4. Velvet the chicken
    • Chop chicken thighs.
    • Velvet using egg white and starch (explicitly no flour).
    • Aim: soft, tender texture.
  5. Combine
    • Add velvetted chicken pieces into the soup.
    • Keep the soup’s consistency described as soft and well-cooked.

Technique notes / tips

  • Mushrooms help the soup taste more chicken-like and avoid chicken becoming dry in your mouth.
  • Granular stock cubes are suggested for more chicken flavour (“more chicken flavour using the granular one”).

3) Leek & Potato Soup (Phil’s method)

Ingredients (quantities not given)

  • Leeks / leek
  • Potatoes (mentions new potatoes)
  • Stock cubes or stock
  • Water
  • Starch (to hold/thicken; “a little of starch”)
  • Butter
  • Garlic
  • Optional: cream / milk powder / milk (Phil lists alternatives)

Equipment

  • Hand blender to liquidize (explicitly parallels the tomato soup finish)
  • No sieve mentioned as needed

Method / key steps

  1. Cook down aromatics
    • Mix butter + garlic + leeks and cook until softened/cooked down.
  2. Add potatoes
    • Add the leek/garlic mixture and then new potatoes.
    • Add a bit of water and stock cubes.
  3. Thicken / hold
    • Add starch (noted as a little starch “just to hold it”).
  4. Cook
    • Cook ~15 minutes.
  5. Blend
    • Liquidize/blend like the tomato soup.
    • No sieve needed (“not really…”, in the context of tomato/leek texture discussion).

Serving cue

  • Served as a “proper soup” texture; described while tasting (“yum… that’s then this is a leek and potato”).

Variations mentioned (from audience segment)

  • Pumpkin soup: Aggie says she loves pumpkin soup (no steps).
  • Creamy asparagus soup: Lindsay’s homemade version (no steps).
  • Roasted butternut squash and chili soup: Ian’s version (no steps).

Common cues / “don’t do this” / tips captured

  • Tomato separation problem: add starch because tomatoes can separate into water and solids (“cookout”).
  • Boost tomato flavour: roast tomatoes with garlic + tomato paste at 200°C for 15–20 minutes.
  • Chicken texture: use velveting (egg white + starch on chicken thighs) to keep it soft; avoid dry chicken.
  • Thickening method: stir cornflour slurry into boiling soup for quick setting.
  • No onions in tomato soup (explicitly stated).
  • No sieve needed for blended soup texture (“not really”).

Notes at end (where to find recipe)

  • Phil says he’ll have the recipe details on the This Morning website (he mentions checking the website and “be texting me”), but no concrete URL is provided.

Original video