Vegan Cauliflower–Leek Soup (Silky) with Optional Steelhead Topping (Serves 5)

Score: 7/10

The recipe provides a solid foundation for a comforting, balanced soup, but critical metadata (timing and cost) is missing. It requires refinement in the vegetable-to-broth ratio to ensure a silky texture, as well as clarifications on leek preparation, trout seasoning, and overly specific serving instructions.

Strengths

Flavor profile is well-balanced, especially with the smart use of lemon juice at the end to brighten the blended soup.
Excellent use of potatoes to provide a silky, creamy texture without relying on dairy.
Clear and successful integration of an omnivore protein option without compromising the core vegan base of the dish.

Issues

high / timing: Cook time and cost estimate fields are entirely empty in the recipe metadata.
medium / ingredient_usage: 7 cups of vegetable broth is likely too much liquid for roughly 3 lbs of vegetables, risking a thin, watery texture instead of the promised silky one.
medium / clarity: Leek preparation does not specify to use only the white and light green parts. If a home cook uses the dark green leaves, the soup will be stringy, off-color, and potentially bitter.
low / clarity: Instruction 1 calls for 'seasoned steelhead' but does not specify what to season it with (e.g., olive oil, salt, pepper).
low / clarity: The serving instruction is overly specific to a presumed user prompt ('Keep one bowl fully vegan. For the 4 non-vegans...'), making it awkward as a standalone recipe.

Suggested fixes

Fill in the missing cook_time (approx. 45 mins) and cost_estimate fields.
Reduce the vegetable broth to 4 to 5 cups initially, instructing the cook to add more broth only if needed during the blending stage to reach the desired consistency.
Update the leek ingredient line to explicitly say 'white and light green parts only'.
Specify in step 1 to 'season the trout with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper'.
Generalize step 5 to say 'Serve bowls fully vegan, or top with flaked trout and smoked paprika for non-vegans' instead of dictating exact diner numbers.