Stay Warm With This Simple Veg Soup

Title: Get Your Soup On

Author: SpunOut.ie

Full Text & Source: http://spunout.ie/health/article/get-your-soup-on?gclid=CKPAjcylo8oCFWev2wod6DwGdw

The Internet, Online, 2/02/2016

Sample Text:

Oh, how we love our soup in Ireland! Cheap, warming, healthy, quick to make and eat, served with a mega slice of brown bread… what’s not to love? Follow this guide to make belly warming soup you can have as one meal, or that will carry you over the week!

At the shop:

• Pick your veg (some nice combos: broccoli and cauliflower; leek and potato; tomato and mushroom; sweet potato and parsnip and butternut squash and lentils). (sample combinations I use are: carrots and parsnips, potato and leek, tomato and basil, sweet potatoes and vegetables – carrots, parsnip and onions etc)
• Pick a fresh herb or spice you think is oh so nice (coriander loves carrot; basil’s mad for tomato; cumin’s crushin on sweet potato; rosemary, thyme and sage mingle nicely with everything). I add a pinch of parsley and thyme and a little bit of garlic.
• Get quality stock cubes. ( Oxo or Knorr Vegetable or Chicken Stock Cubes.
• Lidl ,Aldi, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu all do their own range of stock cubes too)
• Get some nice bread (this will transform a bowl of a soup to a delicious meal).    (I recommend fresh crusty bread rolls or wholemeal brown bread with lots of fresh butter on top. )

On the hob:

• Gently heat some butter or olive oil and a knob of butter in a decent sized pot (enough to coat all the veg you’ll be adding).
• When these guys get going, add some chopped garlic & onions.
• When these guys get going, add your veg (peeled, sliced and diced).
• When this gets going, add your herbs or spices.
• Stir all this around for about 15 mins on a med heat, maybe a wee bit longer for root veggies.
• When your veggies are getting soft and it all smells lovely, it’s time to add the hot stock to your pot (see directions on the stock box).
• Bring the veggies and stock to a boil.
• When it comes to the boil, lower the heat to a simmer (wee gentle bubbles).
• Cook with lid almost covering the pot for about 15 mins.
• Turn the heat off, put the lid on.
• Blend all the ingredients and eat OR leave it sit for a few hours and then blend it up for especially tasty soup.
• Dunnes Stores and Tesco do a hand held blender for €10. It is plastic so wait for the soup to cool a little before blending.

Tips:

• Fresh herbs. Ya gotta get fresh! So much better than dried.
• Adding a spud to any flavor of soup gives it nice texture. (It thickens and flavours the soup. Sweet potatoes are the nicest potatoes to use.)
• Adding celery to any soup gives it a nice added flavour.
• A bit of shredded cheese or creme fraiche on top is a nice touch.
• If you have some veg laying around that’s starting to die, save it by making a nice veg soup!
• If you don’t have a hand blender to blitz the veg, you can try using a potato masher. It will be a bit chunky, but just as lovely.