Veggie Soup
Makes approximately 6-8 bowls.
I love making soups and casseroles because it’s a good opportunity to use up any veggies lurking in the fridge. You can vary the ingredients to suit and there are no exact measurements required. I like to puree my soup when it is cooked, even though it does go a bit of a yucky colour when you blend the green of spinach and the orange of the pumpkin and carrots. Don’t worry, it still tastes good!
Because the soup is basically just carbohydrates, I add a measured amount of protein to each bowl when it is cooked, either chicken, mini meatballs, tofu or haloumi. I don’t peel the pumpkin or carrots, there is no need.
Ingredients
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 Leek, finely sliced
- Quite a few sticks of Celery, sliced
- 2 carrots - sliced
- Butternut – about 900g, chopped
- Bunch of Spinach, washed and sliced
- 3 Continental stock pots, (or if using liquid stock about 1 litre)
- 2 cans tomatoes, cans rinsed out with water and added to soup, if not using liquid stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Handful of chopped Parsley
- 2 tsp mixed dried herbs
- Water – you may need to add more water, depending on how many veggies and how much stock you use
Method
Sweat the veggies in a little oil in a pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat down if the onions start to brown. Add the remaining ingredients apart from the spinach. Simmer for about 40-60 minutes, until the veggies are soft, then add the sliced spinach and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Blend to the texture you like, check the seasoning and serve, adding additional protein as above.
