The days are colder, darker and longer and there is nothing better than a big bowl of nutritious tasty soup. This simple recipe makes the tastiest soup for the winter evenings! Of course, you could add some hearty homemade brown bread for a real treat!
Ingredients:
- 2-3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced
- 2 large celery stalks, sliced
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium leeks, outer layer removed, washed and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 64 fluid oz of vegetable stock
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 10 cranks of fresh crushed peppercorns
- 1½ tsp of seasoning mix (like Knorr stock cubes)
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup of whole milk (or ½ cup of cream and ½ cup water)
- 2 tbs of corn starch or flour (if using corn flour be sure to cook for longer to remove that floury taste)
- 1 – 2 stalks of celery leaves for garnish
Method:
- In large stock pot, saute the vegetables in olive oil for 15 minutes – stirring continually.
- Add the seasonings (salt, pepper and herb seasoning mix) and stir to mix well.
- Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove from heat. Transfer the contents of the pot to another container and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, place soup contents into a blender container and puree. Return the pureed mixture to the stock pot. Continue until everything has been pureed and returned to the stock pot.
- Check the taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
- Place milk (or cream / water) and corn flour into a shaker container. Shake well.
- Slowly pour the milk / starch mixture into the reheating soup while stirring. Add the butter and continue to stir until thickened, butter has melted and soup is warm enough to eat.
- Garnish each bowl of soup with a few stalks of celery leaves.
Give the recipe a go and post a picture of your finished product to our Facebook page – I’d love to see it!
