Vegetable Soup

Soup Kitchen…

Over the past number of years there have been plenty of times when I have been too busy to shop let alone cook, but looking back there is one thing that I have always seemed to find a few moments and enough ingredients to cook….SOUP J

No matter how delicious the illustrations look on the packets of “gourmet” soups available to buy the flavour never lives up to my expectation. I have two favourites - Spicy Red Lentil & Tomato (you will always find a packet of lentils and a tin of chopped tomatoes at the back of your store cupboard), the second is Vegetable Soup. There are so many variations, the ingredients listed below are only guidelines, don’t be afraid to experiment.

Ingredients & Costing…
Large Spanish Onion x 1	0.33
Carrots x 4	0.11
Parsnip x 4	0.49
Medium Potato x 1	0.10
Small Turnip x 1	0.22
Celery Stick x 3	0.30
Stock Cube x 1	0.15
Dried Parsley x 1 tblsp	0.05
Bay Leaf x 1	0.05
Maldon Sea Salt 2gm	0.05
Black Pepper 2gm	0.05
Olive Oil to Sautée	0.05
Butter 5gm	0.05
10 Servings	€2.00

It Couldn’t be easier…

æ      Heat the olive oil & butter in a large heavy based saucepan

æ      Dice the onions & sautée over a low heat until translucent

æ      Dice the vegetables into even size cubes & add to the saucepan. Stir well coating everything with a glaze of oil/butter. Cover with a lid and “sweat” over a low heat for 10 minutes – I think this is the key stage to making delicious soup so don’t rush it…

æ      Dissolve the stock cube in boiling water & add to the vegetables along with the herbs & bay leaf, top up with enough water to generously cover the vegetables

æ      Bring to the boil & simmer gently until the vegetables are cooked

æ      Finally add seasoning to taste – don’t be shy with the black pepper

æ      Allow the soup to cool & liquidise. (When my daughter was younger liquidised soup was one of the few ways I could get her to eat vegetables J)

Serving Suggestions…

æ      Sometimes I add milk to the soup when I am reheating it or a dollop of crème fraiche & a sprinkling of fresh herbs when I am serving it for a slightly different taste

Pennywise Tip…

In an ideal world homemade stock provides the best flavour, however if like me you don’t have a high percentage of meat in your diet it can be hard to get your hands on the bones necessary to give stock its depth of flavour.  A lot of store bought stock cubes have a high percentage of salt & fat so be careful when choosing - I use KALLO Just Bullion. Even when I am making vegetable soup I vary the flavours used between, vegetable/chicken & beef.