This is a warming, delicious and inexpensive winter soup. You can jazz it up with toasted seeds, croutons and herbs and if not on a plant based diet you can add finely chopped cooked smoked bacon or sausage, sour cream or pretty much anything you like.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1 potato, peeled and chopped in small cubes
- 2 celery sticks, cut in half lengthwise and then thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in small dice
- 1 leek, cut in the shape of a cross and thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and extra for drizzling
- 250g savoy cabbage, finely sliced
- 1 Ltr of vegan stock
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 100ml passata
- ½ tsp dried coriander
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- A few chilli flakes (depending how hot you like it)
- A few fresh coriander leaves
Method
Put the olive oil in a large pan and bring to a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add all the other chopped vegetables apart from the cabbage and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring all the time. Next, add the cabbage and the spices and cook for a further 2-3 minutes before adding the tomato paste and passata. Give everything a good stir and pour in the stock.
Bring the contents of the saucepan to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer till all the vegetables are soft (45-60 minutes), adding some hot water during cooking if required.
When the soup is cooked, you may choose to blitz it all for a smooth texture , or you may blitz some of it and mix it with the rest in the pan to just add body but also have some texture.
Add the balsamic vinegar, season to taste and serve with a few coriander leaves and a drizzle of olive oil with any other toppings you fancy.