Vegetable Soup

With Garlic, Turmeric and Ginger

I'm sure everyone has made vegetable soup at some stage. This is a very basic recipe which gives plenty of scope for change.

It’s easy to be put off by recipes that have too many ingredients. This soup has a lovely creamy taste, as well as being nourishing and substantial.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion

4 garlic cloves (I like the purple ones)

1 tsp oil (or 3 tbsp of water if not using oil)

750g carrots (5-6)

500g sweet potato (1 medium size)

1 thumb size piece of ginger

1½ litres of vegetable stock (good stock cube is fine)

1 tsp turmeric (fresh or powder)

Pinch of black pepper

Parsley (optional)

Method

1. Peel and dice the onion and garlic.

2. Sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil until golden.

3. Add the chopped carrots, sweet potato, grated ginger, pepper and vegetable stock to the pot.

4. Bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for about 20 minutes.

5. Finally, add the turmeric and mix well with a hand blender.

Assemble the ingredients

Chopped onion, garlic and a tsp of oil.

Caramelise until golden in colour (don’t burn).

Carrots, sweet potatoes and ginger added.

Add a vegetable stock cube and water.

A stick blender like this is useful and only needs a quick rinse after use.

The finished product with a sprinkle of parsley for extra iron.

Tips

Try a few fennel seeds, a bay leaf, a small amount of chili, thyme or parsley to make the soup more zingy with even more nutrients.

You can use up vegetables in your fridge that might be in danger of being thrown out.

Add lentils or beans if you want a more filling soup. These foods are a form of protein touted by health experts for their ability to reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and dampen down appetites i.e. help with weight loss.

You can use seasonal vegetables where possible. They are fresher and cheaper.

It can be beneficial to rotate the vegetables that you use. It results in a greater diversity of bacteria in your gut. This aids digestion. A diverse gut microbiome is a healthy one.

Batch cooking is useful for when you arrive home hungry. You can toss a block of frozen soup into a pot. It is also great to reduce the workload — one batch, one clean-up!

You can make a lot of soup in one go. It freezes well.

Enough garlic and onion to last for a while!

Warm, substantial, anti-inflammatory soup.

Turmeric, Ginger and Garlic are powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral foods. They are the all natural way to boost your immune system. Include them wherever you can!