Tomato, courgette and sweet potato soup

Fresh, healthy homemade soup. What's not to like.....

I have probably said before that I am not a great fan of ready made soups and particularly those that come in packets and cans both for health and economy reasons, I tend to make most of the soup we eat from fresh vegetables and this recipe is no exception. Finding myself in the situation were I had a couple of courgettes and some tomatoes that were ageing fast, I thought I would combine them with butternut squash or sweet potato to make a wholesome soup, yet still summery.

A tasty easy recipe which would be a great way later in the season to use up glut tomatoes and courgettes if you have them, it looks like the recipe would freeze well but I haven't tried it.

What you need 

• A little vegetable oil
• Fresh or tinned tomatoes (don't worry about skins and pips as we are blending later)
• Onion
• Courgettes - topped tailed and sliced into half moons
• Butternut squash or sweet potato - peeled, de-seeded(if squash) and chopped into small chunks
• Vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper

What you do 

• Firstly prepare your vegetables
• Gently fry in the oil the onion until softened but not coloured
• Then add the courgette and butter nut / sweet potato to the pan
• Again cook until starting to softened
• Now add the tomatoes and stock to the pan
• Simmer until all the vegetables are soft
• Allow to cool slightly then blitz with a stick blender or in a liquidiser to desired consistency
• Bring back to a simmer and then taste and season
• Serve piping hot with crusty bread

We are linking up to Recipe of the Week over on A Mummy Too

                                                              

Meat Free Mondays over on Tinned Tomatoes

                                                       

Extra Veg hosted in turn by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy
                                                 
                                                     

No croutons required hosted this month at Lisa's Kitchen

                                                               

Parsnip, carrot and mango chutney soup

Its official I am sad, yes very sad I cut out recipes and paste them in a scrap book and then on wet days, I stand at my kitchen counter and gently flick through the pages discovering inspiration for dishes to cook. This is one such recipe, inspired by a carrot and chutney soup recipe (this one contained rice as a thickener) I decided to rescue a few past their best carrots and parsnips from the vegetable rack and combine them with mango chutney in a sweet mildly spicy soup.

A perfect soup for a cool spring weekend lunch, sufficiently comforting without being too winter warming, I served this with some easy gluten free flat bread (recipe on separate post), any leftovers I plan to take to work in my trusty soup container.

The recipe would also work with other chutneys, caramelised onion would be good and its also very frugal too. What's not to like so why not give it a try.....

                                               

What you need

• 2 large carrots - peeled and chopped
• 2 large parsnips - peeled and chopped
• Vegetable stock ( I used Essential Cuisine)
• 1 tbsp mango chutney
• 1 brown onion - peeled and finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• A little rapeseed oil or olive oil or butter

What you do

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, carrots and parsnips and sweats for a few minutes without colouring.
• Add enough vegetable stock to the pan to cover the vegetables 
• Simmer until the vegetables are soft and add the mango chutney to the pan. 
• Blitz with a hand blender or in a liquidiser until you achieve a smooth velvety texture, add more vegetable stock if required.
• Return to the pan and bring back to simmer before serving.
• Delicious served with flat breads or artisan bread.
• This soup also freezes well

I am linking this post up to Farmers Girl's linky "Recipe Clippings" for April, as this recipe was inspired by a clipped recipe from my scrapbook.

                                           

I am also linking up to Credit crunch munch as I am using past their best vegetables which is just the sort of frugal meal I like. The challenge created by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab food for All and hosted this month by Utterly Scrummy

                                           

Also to #ExtraVeg created by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy and hosted this month by Jo's Kitchen.
                                                         

And to Souper Soup created and hosted over at Jo's Kitchen for soups.

                                                       


And to No Croutons required co hosted in rotation by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa's Kitchen, a challenge for veggie soups and salads.

                                                     

And finally to Simple and in Season hosted this month by Fuss Free Flavours for the lovely Ren Behan 

                                          

Spicy roots soup, a classic winter warmer

In the spirit of eating healthy I have been prepping some easy lunches that I can take to work, I love soup but only homemade hits the spot for me. By making your own soup you are in control of the ingredients, the level of spicing and also the portion size, and I don't know about anybody else but I can't eat a huge portion of soup (i.e can sized) so taking a packed portion works out great for me.

The clipping from my scrap book that the recipe is based on, I think its from a Tesco magazine.

Recently I noticed in Aldi they had some BPA free snap lockable soup containers on special buy so I took the plunge and purchased a set. I am hoping that this will encourage me to take my portions to work for a nutritious healthy lunch, so far so good.

My new soup container

Its an easy recipe and uses the odd root vegetable you have in your fridge or vegetable rack, the recipe also uses very little oil so its low fat and has lovely gentle spicing which enhances the sweet earthy vegetable flavours in the soup.

What you need

• 1 onion chopped (red or white)
• 2 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Couple of carrots, peeled and chopped ( I use organic if I can get them as I find they are sweeter)
• 1 small swede - peeled and chopped
• 1 large white potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 large parsnip - peeled and chopped
• A litre or so of vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of dried red chilli (I used crumbled whole ones)
• A little yogurt to serve - optional or some omega 3 seeds
• A little rapeseed oil

What you do 

• Gently fry the onion and garlic in a little oil in a large saucepan, until softened slightly.
• Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes until they are starting softened and very slightly caramelised.
• Add the spices to the pan and the vegetable stock and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
• Blitz with a hand blender or in a liquidiser until you reach your desired soup consistency, you may need to add water.
• Re heat to simmering point and serve swirled with natural yogurt or sprinkled with seeds
• Delicious.
• This recipe freezes beautifully

I am linking this recipe up to "Vegetable palette" over at A2K (Allotment to Kitchen), who's theme this month is Detox recipes. 

                               

Also to "Extra Veg" over on Utterly Scrummy Food and also Fuss Free Flavours as this soup contains lots of extra veg.

                                                     

And "No Croutons Required" hosted this month by Lisa's Kitchen a vegetarian challenge for soups and salads, co hosted by Tinned Tomatoes .

                                                           

And a new challenge "Recipe Clippings" as this is based on a recipe I have in my trusty soups scrapbook, this is hosted our on Farmers Girl Kitchen

                                    

And lastly Tea Time Treats, the theme this month being packed lunches and hosted this month over at Hedgecombers. A challenge jointly hosted by Lavender and Lovage.

                                                        

Roasted red pepper and garlic soup

Recently I managed to snaffle a couple of beautiful sweet pointed red peppers at the local shop for a bargain price, so as we love roasted peppers I decided to make a warming soup.

I love roasting red peppers as its really enhances the flavour of the pepper and intensifies their sweetness, We love them in our household even using them on rustic bread as a sandwich filling with a splash of balsamic and a couple of basil leaves to create an amazing flavourful vegetarian snack.

This soups uses the roasted pepper flesh along with a couple of  roasted garlic bulbs as the basis of a tasty hearty soup which is rich in antioxidants and all things good for you. Its also an amazing colour as you can see from the photographs.

What you need

• 2 large red pointed peppers - split, seeds removed
• 2 bulbs garlic - sliced across
• Fresh rosemary and thyme
• A little olive oil or virgin rapeseed oil
• 1 white onion - peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium potato - peeled and diced
• Vegetable stock ( I used Essential Cuisine)
• Salt and Pepper - to taste
• Creme fraiche or yogurt - omit if you want diary free

What you do 

• Prepare the pepper and garlic and rub with a little oil before placing on a baking tray, strewn with some fresh herbs and a little salt and pepper
• Roast for 20 - 25 minutes at 180c until the pepper skin is slightly charred and blistering
• Remove from oven and cool fully on the tray
• Once fully cool remove the charred skin from the pepper flesh and squeeze the garlic cloves to remove the cloves from the papery skin
• In a large saucepan in a little oil saute the onion and the chopped potato for a few minutes, now add the roasted red pepper flesh and garlic cloves 
• Add enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables and simmer until the potato is soft
• Blitz using a stick blender until you have a smooth consistency 
• Add as much additional vegetable stock or water to thin to your preferred soup thickness.
• Re heat and taste for seasoning
• Serve swirled with creme friache or yogurt 

We are linking up to No Croutons Required hosted this month over at Lisa's Kitchen 

Extra Veg challenge hosted this month over at Fuss Free Living

November's family foodies hosted over at Eat your Veg 

Credit Crunch Munch hosted this month by My Little Italian Kitchen 

Beef and Vegetable Cottage Pie topped with Rosemary Crushed Potatoes

A perfect dish for a Sunday tea or a a busy weeknight when you can't be bothered cooking, it has the perfect combination of roast crispy potatoes and cottage pie filling and the good news is that the vegetables are in the pie. 

The topping is inspired by Casa pie from Vanessa Kimbell's "Prepped" book and is something that I use a lot instead of mash to top fish pie and also chilli and bolognaise. Its an easy no fuss dish which freezes beautifully so you can batch make and the pie filling can also be used in pastry pies as well.

Its a pretty frugal dish too as you can use frozen vegetables in the meat filling and the herbs are from the garden plus  its also gluten free as well as I have used cornflour to thicken the gravy. Its a great way of adding more vegetables to your diet without really noticing and also for upping the fibre content of cottage pie as the crushed potatoes are still in their skins.

What you need

• Small washed new potatoes boiled until just cooked - halved if large
• Rapeseed oil
• Fresh rosemary- leaves removed and chopped finely
• Minced steak
• White onion - finely chopped into half moons
• Beef stock ( I use essential cuisine)
• Cornflour
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh thyme - leaves finely chopped
• Parsley - finely chopped
• Carrots - peeled and diced, or you could use frozen
• Peas - I used a good handful of frozen petit pois
• Tomato ketchup (ensure gluten free if necessary)

What you do

• Firstly heat a little oil in a large frying pan and saute the sliced onions until translucent 
• Now add the mince to the pan and fry off golden and well coloured
• Now add the thyme, parsley and a tbsp of tomato sauce to the pan along with enough beef stock to cover the meat, stir and then add the diced carrot to the pan.
• Simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked and the carrot tender through, now using a little water to slake the cornflour and use to thicken the gravy. 
• Add the frozen peas to the meat mixture and place in ovenproof dishes 
• Top the pie mixture with the small potatoes crushing them slightly using your thumbs , sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and drizzle with a little rapeseed oil
• Bake in the oven at 180c for 40 minutes until the top is golden and crispy and the filling bubbling.
• Serve immediately

I'm linking this recipe up to extra veg created by Utterly Scrummy and Fuss Free Flavours and hosted by Elizabeths Kitchen this month.

We are also linking up to Credit Crunch Munch, created by Fab Food for all and Fuss Free Flavours hosted this month over at Maison Cupcake.