Vegetable soup trio
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
One soup base turns into three veg-packed soups.
Ingredients
For the leek and potato base soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 4 sticks celery
- 2 leeks (white parts only), diced
- 150g/10½oz floury potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small bunch thyme, tied together
- 1.5 litres/2½ pints vegetable stock
- 2 tsp oz vegan cream, to serve
- 2 tbsp croutons, to serve
- 1 tbsp chopped chives, to serve
For the courgette and watercress soup
- 500g/1lb 2oz courgettes, diced
- 300g/10½oz watercress, stalks removed
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 50g/1¾oz vegetarian Parmesan or Old Winchester cheese, to serve
- drizzle basil oil, to serve
- handful fresh basil leaves, to serve
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the roasted carrot soup
- 350g/12oz roasted carrots
- 100g/3½oz caster sugar
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 crispy sage leaves, to serve
- 100g/3½oz croutons, to serve
Method
To make the leek and potato base soup, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onions, garlic, celery and leek gently for 20 minutes, or until softened.
Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Blend this in a blender until smooth. Serve a third of the soup and finish with a swirl of cream, croutons and chopped chives.
To make the courgette and watercress soup, pour a third of the base into a large saucepan.
Add the courgettes and cook for 15 minutes. Add the watercress at the last minute then remove from the heat. Blend until smooth, season with salt and pepper and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Finish with the olive oil, cheese, basil oil and basil leaves.
To make the carrot soup, place the remaining third of the base soup into a blender. Add the roasted carrots and blend until smooth.
Place the sugar in a frying pan and cook without stirring until it forms a caramel. (CAUTION: boiling sugar is extremely hot. Handle very carefully. Use a deep pan to avoid bubbling over.) Add the sherry vinegar and mix to combine and stop the caramel cooking.
Serve the soup topped with the sherry caramel, crispy sage and croutons.
