Thinking Healthy

After the excess of Christmas and New Year our thoughts turn to getting back into the healthy living regime.  The trend for 2019 includes lots of vegetarian and vegan foods the emphasis on vegetables as a very important part of our diet.

For simplicity and ease I make soups, which can be used immediately or placed in a container (empty plastic milk bottles are excellent) and frozen to eat later.  Soup is an ideal lunch or snack food with healthy overtones.  The soup I made used up vegetables from the refrigerator and are not fried off in any fat.  Using one of the AGA stainless steel saucepans, or casseroles means that the time to bring to the boil is minimal and they can be placed in the Simmering Oven to soften the vegetables, stacked on other pans if necessary.

The recipe is simple and entails putting the prepared vegetables you have at hand into the saucepan, a selection of root vegetables including leek, red onions, celery, carrots and parsnips plus a few mushrooms, courgette and a red chilli.  Barely cover with water and season – I also added some sprigs of fresh thyme.

Bring to the boil on the Boiling Plate then place in the Simmering Oven for an hour until the vegetables are tender, then blitz and adjust the consistency to your liking.  Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley and if you like a blob of low fat British crème fraiche.

When using mushrooms they tend to darken the soup to a rich brown colour.  This soup can be varied with whatever vegetables you have and can be varied; pumpkin or butternut squash will give a more vibrant colour and Jerusalem artichokes (now in season) a more smoky delicate flavour.

Dawn Roads