Last Saturday I felt that we all needed a super-healthy dinner, but since we'd had a late lunch it needed to be light, and since it was the weekend it had to be easy.  I sort of randomly started throwing vegetables in a Dutch oven, and it ended up a delicious thick vegetable soup that even my children found so yummy they didn't need any encouragement to completely empty their plates.  Check, seven vegetables in the tummy!

Here's the recipe for a big pot.

Good soup

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 6 carrots, sliced

• 5 stalks of celery, sliced

• 1 red pepper, chopped

• 1 good size courgette, diced

• some mushrooms, sliced

• 700 ml passata (or 3 tins chopped tomatoes)

• about 250 ml water

• 1 1/2 stock cubes for vegetable stock

Start with heating about 4 tablespoons of ordinary olive oil in a Dutch oven (or any large soup pot) and gently glaze the onions and garlic. Add the vegetables one by one, while you are cleaning and slicing them, meanwhile make sure that you don't burn the veggies that are cooking. Stir every now and then. 

After adding all the veggies cook for a bit longer, then add the passata, some water and the stock cubes. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Puree the soup before serving (or don’t bother) and if you think necessary add salt and pepper. You can serve it with a dollup of crème fraîche and some fresh basil, or some fresh grated cheese. And good bread, obviously.

Bon appetite!

xxx Esther

P.S. Just add any appropriate vegetable you have in the fridge to the soup.  The more the merrier.

P.P.S.  This soup is also very handy if you have very young children eating with you -- one pot for all!