Cream of Vegetable Soup

Lisa Jane

The beauty of this recipe is you can pretty much use up any veg and it’s a really hearty soup. My pot was crammed with veg and it’s like a meal in a bowl. You could use a little less veg and leftover meat, and bring costs down even further with any reduced priced items.

This made a lovely pot of cream of veg soup…. Inspired by my 19-year-old thinking back to when I ‘saved his life after a lads holiday with ‘proper’ food waiting for his return … he was hankering after this last night (although he’s had the fear more than a few times and had to be rescued plenty so I had to think hard about what soup it was )

The kitchen smells amazing. I made a huge pot and there are at least 12 generous portions.

Total cost £2.03 approx to make, so under 17p a portion. There is loads of veg in this so incredibly filling and would do an easy soup and sandwich-type dinner. You could also leave out a little veg to reduce costs and mix it up by adding in some leftover chicken or ham.

The ingredients are things I had in so mix it up as you wish.

Ingredients

• 1/4 bag frozen broccoli
• 1/4 bag frozen cauliflower
• 1/3 bag fresh carrots
• 1/2 tin sweetcorn
• 3 large potatoes
• 3 sticks celery
• 3 Savoy cabbage leaves
• 1 onion 10p
• 1 tsp mustard
• 5 tbsp flour
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk

Herbs and spices

A sprinkle of cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/2 tsp parsley and a good grind of salt and pepper.

Stock. If none are in the fridge make some up with a stock cube of your choice.

Method

I chop as I go and start with the hardest veg in the pot to start cooking as this is quicker!

1. Makeup approx 2.5 litres (2 1/2)of stock – I use veg but chicken would work well or a mix of both. You can add extra water or stock as desired depending on how thick you want it or how much stock you prefer and how good the stock is. I ended up adding extra water as the soup thickens, and the sautéed veg, spices and herbs add to the flavour anyway.
2. Leave aside frozen broccoli and cauliflower to defrost, before chopping and adding the soup in the last 10-15 mins.
3. First finely chop the celery and get on to sweat in a large, heavy-bottomed pan using some of the stock. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t catch, and when starting to soften add in diced onions. Chop your carrots and add-in, adding more stock and the garlic, cayenne and some salt and pepper.
4. Then chop the potatoes, and add, along with the rest of the stock. Give a good stir and bring to a boil then turn down slightly.
5. Shred the Savoy cabbage and add once the carrots and potatoes are starting to soften, along with the broccoli and cauliflower. Then in a separate pan make a roux.
6. Soften the butter, add the flour and whisk until it comes to a paste. Add in the milk and mustard and whisk again until this thickens. Then add in a couple of ladles of the cooking liquid from the soup, whisk well until it thickens again, then add this back to the soup pot.
7. At this stage add in the sweetcorn, herbs and a good grind of salt, black or white pepper (I often add a little of both).
8. Let this simmer for around 10 minutes and then you’re good to go.

Sounds a lot but it takes me around 25 mins to prep and throw together, and as it’s cooking as I’m prepping it’s usually ready soon after.

This is also nice with a little swirl of single cream and a grating of Parmesan if you fancy that little extra indulgence

Cost approx £2.03 and portions for 12 so 16.9p is a generous portion. Costs could be reduced even further with reduced items.