Vegetarian Cooking: Thick country soup recipe

Thick country soup ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetables oil

• 15 g/ ½ oz butter

• 1 onion, chopped

• 225 g/8 oz carrots, sliced

• 100 g/4 oz packet soup mix ( see buying guide)

• 850 ml /1 ½  pints vegetable stock

• 1 leek, white part only, chopped

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme /

• 1 bay leaf

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

How To Cook Thick Country Soup 

1) In saucepan, heat the oil and butter and gently cook the onion and carrots for 10 minutes.
2) Add the soup mix together with the stock, chopped leek, celery and herbs. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes.
3) Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley. Serve at once.

Cook’s notes

Time- preparation takes about 15 minutes, cooking time is 45 minutes
Serving ideas- for lunch or supper serve some cheese and biscuits and/ or fruit after this substantial soup.
Watchpoint- do not add salt to pulses until the end of the cooking time as toughens the skins
Buying guide- packets of soup mix are: available in most health food shops and some large supermarkets. They usually contain a mixture of lentils, yellow and green split peas, pearl barley and oatmeal.
Variation- For a sophisticated flavor, try substituting a bouquet garni for the thyme and bay leaf.