Here’s a soup that I made last night. we’re still eating it so I added some zing tonight with toppings and some bread. This recipe will work with pretty much any combination of similar vegetables.

Serves lots!

Ingredients
1 large brown onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed (not minced)
1/2 bulb of fennel, diced
2 sticks of celery, opeeled and piced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 large cauliflower, cut into florets
2 parsnips, outsides not cores, peeled and diced
1/2 leek, sliced
5 cm root ginger diced
400g tin of tomatoes
Small tub of tomato paste
Water or chicken stock

Spices
1 tbsp toasted cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp ajowan seeds (optional)
2 bay leaves
Cracked black pepper
Sea salt

Cook the chopped vegetables in olive oil and a little butter on medium to high heat until starting to brown.

Meanwhile, if you have cumin and coriander seeds, toast them in a dry pan. Add the mustard, cardamom and carway seeds towards the end. Grind these in a mortar and pestle.

Add just enough water or chicken stock to just cover the vegetables. Also add the tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.

Add the spices and simmer for 90minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Use a stick blender to mix to a coarse puree. Season with salt an pepper.

I served this topped with yoghurt, red and green chilli slices (so people could determine their own level of heat), preserved lime from our garden, and coriander leaves.

The bread was topped with garlic oil, sea salt, cooked onion and nigella seeds.