Comfort

Ah soup, glorious soup - there’s nothing quicker to make or better at warding off the cold, or offering comfort after you slip on some ice and measure your admittedly short length along the pavement.

Still, not too much bruised except my pride

This recipe from Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Express is fantastic, not just for the comfort factor but because it pretty much makes itself: roast the vegetables, then liquidise - that’s all there is to it. My kind of soup.

Rose also mentions that because the ingredients are rich in beta-carotene, this soup is good for healthy eyes, hair, nails, lungs and throat, and increased resistance to infection. So if anyone’s got the sniffles/lurgy/man flu this weekend, you’re practically on orders to try this out!

Roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup adapted from Vegetarian Express by Rose Elliot

Serves 4

You’ll need:

3 red peppers, halved and seeded
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
1 pint vegetable stock
Red chilli flakes to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2. Toss the vegetables together with some olive oil in a large roasting dish.

3. Roast in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

4. Blend the cooked vegetables in a liquidiser, together with the stock and red chilli flakes to taste.

5. Reheat, season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve. 

Cook’s notes

I served this up with some chunky garlic croutons – see the recipe below. Very addictive…

A friend of mine (hi Susan! ) has a nice variation where you chuck a whole chilli in to roast with the veg. It all depends on how much heat you like.

Garlicky croutons

These crunchy little numbers have a punchy garlic hit, making them the perfect complement for soups and salads. Or just nibbling as you go along.

Garlicky Croutons from Cook 1.0 – A Fresh Approach to the Vegetarian Kitchen by Heidi Swanson

You’ll need:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
A couple of pinches of both salt and pepper
About 6 cups of good quality day-old bread

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 4.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.

3. Cut the bread into cubes or rounds, or just rip up into small chunks. Put the bread pieces into the bowl with the oil and toss around for a minute, until the bread has a light coating of oil.

4. Place the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven, flipping the croutons once or twice to make sure all sides are cooked, until the croutons are golden and crisp – about 10 minutes.

5. Let the croutons cool and then season again with salt and pepper.