Vegetable Soup is good for the soul

I love making soup as I’m reminded so much of my childhood;

Rushing into the warm, fragrant kitchen with its steamed up windows on a cold, wintery afternoon.

Hand knitted mittens, soggy from making snowballs

Red noses, dripping from the cold.

Holding our hands to the fire to warm them, squealing with pain as the circulation returned to our cold fingers

Thick, uneven slices of hot, buttery toast from an un-cut loaf bought that day from the bakery.

And then the soup; thick, tasty and served piping hot with whispers of steam rising from the surface. Pure, indulgent, childhood bliss

You can use any combination of vegetables but these are a good starter. This soup is really cheap and can be a way of using up limp or old vegetables. Adding the lentils makes the soup thicker.

6oz or 160g red or green lentils (if using green, soak overnight)

4 carrots – peeled and chopped

half a butternut squash - peeled and chopped

small sweet potato – peeled and chopped

2 onions – peeled and chopped

3 celery sticks – washed and chopped

1 leek – washed and chopped

about 2 table spoons of olive oil

salt, pepper, herbs or other seasoning to taste

1 vegetable stock cube

2 pints or 1 litre of water

Wash, peel and chop the veggies. They should be smaller than an oxo cube.

Fry the onion, celery and leek in the olive oil in a pan, stirring with a wooden spoon. The onion can burn so keep an eye on it. You will only need to do this for about 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato and lentils.

Then, add in the water and the stock cube.

Stir, put the lid on and cook for about 45 minutes. Don’t leave the heat on high once it is boiling; the liquid should just gently bubble.

Taste the soup and add the seasonings. If the veggies are still a bit hard, cook for longer. Then using a blender or a sieve or just a potato masher, pulp some of the veggies to thicken up

Serve hot with toast or bread rolls