Veggie Minestrone Soup

Serves 6

1½ kg of vegetables such as onions, carrots, beans, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, paprika, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, roughly chopped 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped

• 2 l water
• 30 g organic stock powder
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 1 green chilli including seeds, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can tomato puree (around 400g)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep pan with a firm base and fry the onion over a medium heat until lightly browned. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for another 2 minutes.
2. Add the vegetables in order of firmness (first carrots, then beans, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, paprika, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes) and cook everything on medium high heat until the vegetables have softened.
3. Pour in the tomato puree and add the herbs. Stir through and let simmer. Depending on the desired consistency, add water or vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
4. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

You can eat this dish as a vegetable stew or sauce (delicious with potatoes or rice) or add the necessary amount of water and bring to the boil to enjoy as a soup. Alternatively, you can enjoy the stew with scrambled eggs, grated cheese, or even sausage and old bread

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

Makes approximately 2½ liters of soup

• 1.8l water
• 200g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 120g red split lentils
• 120g tomato puree
• 100g onion, sliced (one average sized onion)
• 70ml olive oil (yes lots of, this is what makes the soup so smooth)
• 1 bunch coriander, stems removed and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Sunflower oil
• 3 teaspoons sea salt
• 4 or 5 teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• Potato starch (to thicken the soup)
• Pepper to Taste

1. Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, then add to a large pot with the water. Bring to the boil and cook the lentils until they fall apart (you are able to see this because the lentils start to bind the water.
2. In the meantime, gently fry the onions in the sunflower oil until translucent. Add garlic, cumin and chilli power during the final 2 minutes, so that the spices becomes wonderfully fragrant.
3. Add the onions to the lentils along with the potatoes, tomato puree and salt and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
4. Season with pepper to taste and stir through olive oil and coriander before serving. You will get a delicious aroma in the kitchen from the melting olive oil.
5. Serve with Turkish flat bread and a squeeze of lemon juice.