Ever since I had children, I have always (half) joked that if you eat healthy food, it cancels out “naughty” food. So after (and before) a glut of gorgeous cakes and biscuits, here is an ultra- healthy but ultra- delicious soup recipe that is my children’s favourite.
I do love eating healthily but often find super- healthy meals don’t fill me up and then I end up eating (even) more cake. Soup, however is an exception to this, especially if eaten with home- made bread. My children love this soup with home-made, bread-maker wholemeal bread. It’s an amazingly simple and nutritious mid- week, after school tea for them. The quantities given here make about 10 good- sized portions so I tend to use some fresh, put some in the fridge for use over the next couple of days and then freeze the rest in portions. If you don’t intend to freeze any, just halve the quantities. The wonderful thing about home-made soup is that you can throw in just about any left over vegetables you have lurking. This does make my children suspicious though so I don’t have complete freedom here. I usually sprinkle a little Tabasco and ground black pepper over my bowlful. If I have fresh basil handy, then a handful of chopped basil in the last five minutes of cooking time is also lovely. If you are not making this to share with children, you may want to add a finely chopped fresh red chilli at the time you add the chopped onions to the pan.
Picnic walks are not just a summer affair in my family. Not since Mango arrived. From October to about April, our “chilly” picnics usually consist of a Thermos of soup and a chunk of home-made bread that we “tear and share”. Occasionally I accompany it with a food thermos of noodles or sausages or sausage rolls and an egg box full of boiled eggs. And of course, there is usually fruit and cake for afterwards. It’s on those occasions when we like to pretend to be “The Famous Five”………………It all keeps my children outdoors and walking happily, whatever time of year.
If I have to give any more reasons why you should make this soup as soon as humanly possible and never buy shop soup again then I will give you this: amazing tasting, proper nutritious food does not come CHEAPER than this! Just make it.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 large carrots, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 celery stick, sliced
2 x 400 g cans of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree (double concentrate)
2 tsp brown sugar
1.2 L vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan or casserole (I use my Le Creuset for this) over a low- medium heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and saute for 5 minutes. You are aiming for the vegetables to be slightly softened but do not let them brown as this will give a bitter flavour.
2. Add the crushed garlic and saute for a further minute, stirring.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients. Bring the soup to the boil and then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Transfer in batches into a liquidiser and blend until smooth.
5. If you are serving the soup immediately, return it to the pan and re- heat.
ScrummyWalks 