This delicious soup can be made using almost any cooked vegetables you have leftover in the fridge. This recipe is great for lunch or a light supper.
Ingredients
1 small onion (if not already in the vegetable mix below)
2 cloves garlic (as above)
1 x 5ml spoon vegetable oil
Approximately 500g mixed cooked vegetables
500ml chicken stock (OR 1 x reduced-salt vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water)
250ml semi-skimmed milk
Ground black pepper (optional)
Equipment
Weighing scales
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Large saucepan
Wooden spoon
Pan stand
Measuring jug
Blender or hand-held blender
Bowl or container to store
Instructions
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic (if using and not already in your cooked vegetables).
- Heat the oil in the saucepan over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onion and garlic (if using).
- Add the rest of the cooked vegetables to the saucepan, along with the stock and milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add black pepper to taste (if using).
- Transfer in batches to a blender (or use a handheld blender) to liquidise to your preferred texture – chunky or smooth.
- Reheat the soup until bubbling hot and serve immediately
Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping, blending, boiling/simmering and frying.
Top Tips
- Keep a container in the fridge into which you can add your leftover vegetables after each meal. Make sure they are not left in the fridge for more than 3 days or they will become unsafe to eat. If you don’t think you will have enough, freeze them until you do, then make the soup.
- Don’t put beans, mangetout or sugar snap peas in this soup as they are stringy and won’t blend properly.
- When blending hot soup the pressure can build up inside the blender, which is why it is very important to follow 3 rules:
1. Never fill the blender more than half full.
2. Always cover the lid with a thick tea towel.
3. Always hold the lid down when the blender is on.
Something to try next time
- If you have any chicken meat left over from your roast, shred some into the soup when reheating it.
- If you need to bulk up the vegetables, add a can of drained sweetcorn or some frozen peas.
- You can also add baked beans or stale bread to your soup to thicken it.
- If you use roasted beetroot in this recipe it will come out a bright pink colour!
Prepare now, eat later
- Cook extra vegetables with your evening meal, cool and then store in the fridge to make soup the next day, to save you time.
- The soup can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 month in sealed containers or freezer bags. Defrost before reheating it until piping hot.
