25g/1oz vegan marg 500g/1lb carrots, sliced 1 medium potato, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 900ml/1½ pints water 1 tsp ground coriander pinch of sugar salt and pepper generous handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped (about 2 tbsp)
Method
Melt the vegan marg in a pan, add the carrots, potato, onion, celery and garlic and cook gently for 10 mins.
Add the ground coriander, sugar and water and season to taste. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the carrots are tender. Cool slightly.
Add the fresh coriander (including the stalks), reserving a few leaves for decoration. Whizz in a food processor until smooth. Add a little more water to loosen, if required, decorate the soup with coriander leaves and serve.
CARROT AND ORANGE SOUP
Ingredients
25g/1oz vegan marg 500g/1lb carrots, sliced 1 onion, chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 900ml/1½ pints water pinch of sugar salt and pepper juice of 4 oranges grated rind of 1 orange
Method
Melt the marg in a pan, add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic and cook gently for 10 mins.
Add the sugar, water and season to taste. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the carrots are tender. Cool slightly.
Whizz in a food processor until smooth. Add the juice, decorate with the orange rind and serve.
CREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP
Ingredients
450g (1lb) broccoli, chopped (approx 1 large one, stalk and florets) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 large leek, sliced 1 stick celery, chopped ½ green pepper, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped knob of fresh ginger (approx 1oz), chopped 1 bay leaf 900ml (1½ pint) water 1 tbsp lemon juice pepper
Method
Gently fry the leek, celery, pepper, garlic, ginger and bay leaf in the oil for 10 mins until the leek is soft.
Add the broccoli and water. Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for about 10 mins.
Take the pan off the heat and leave the soup to cool a little. Remove the bay leaf and then blend the soup until smooth. Pour back into the pan and reheat. Add the pepper and lemon juice and serve. Delicious!
PARSNIP AND BUTTER BEAN SOUP
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegan margarine 1 onion, chopped 3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped 2 large parsnips, roughly chopped 3 medium sized potatoes, roughly chopped 425g tin butter beans 1 pint water 1½ tsp vegan bouillon 3 bay leaves pinch of dried oregano 1 tbsp lemon juice half pint soya milk freshly ground black pepper
Method
Melt the margarine in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is softened.
Add the parsnips and potatoes and stir well. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the butter beans with their liquid, and the water. Add the bouillon, bay leaves, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper to taste.
Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 mins or until the vegetables are softened. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves and stir in the soya milk.
Puree the soup until smooth (or for a chunkier texture, mash with a potato masher) and serve with plenty of fresh bread or oven-baked croutons. Delicious!
RAW SOUP
Ingredients
1 litre organic soya milk 2 tomatoes 2 carrots 2 celery sticks a handful of fresh parsley half a small cauliflower 2 tsp low salt yeast extract ½ tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp nutmeg 2 onions, finely chopped 50g soya margarine
Method
Gently fry the onions in the soya margarine until soft.
Meanwhile, whizz the rest of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Add the blended vegetables to the onions and simmer very gently for 10 to 15 minutes.
SPICED POTATO SOUP
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil 2 onions 1 medium parsnip 2 medium potatoes 1 medium sweet potato 1 leek 2 tsp mild curry powder 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground ginger salt and pepper 1 handful of split red lentils
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Roughly chop the onions, add them to the pan and let them cook for a few minutes.
Chop the parsnip, potatoes, sweet potato and leek and add to the pan. Add the curry powder, turmeric, ground ginger, a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and mix well.
Add enough boiling water to cover, bring back to the boil, add a handful of split red lentils and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Whizz the soup in a food processor, adding a touch more water if required, and serve. Easy!
SPICY PARSNIP AND APPLE SOUP
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil 1 medium onion 1¾ lb parsnip 1 apple 2 tsp mild curry powder 700 ml vegetable stock
Method
Heat the oil in a pan. Chop the onion and fry until soft.
Peel and chop the parsnip and apple, and add to the pan with the curry powder, and cook for 30 seconds. Then cover with the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until the parsnips are soft.
Whizz in a blender. Add some water to loosen if necessary and season to taste. Delicious!
SWEETCORN CHOWDER
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 stick of celery, diced 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 medium potato, diced 2 x 325g tins of sweetcorn, drained 1 pint water ½ pint soya milk pepper nutmeg, freshly grated mango chutney
Method
Gently fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the oil for 10 mins.
Add the sweetcorn, potato, water and soya milk, stir well and bring to the boil. Season with pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Let the chowder cool slightly, then lightly blend it (you want it to be slightly 'lumpy' not smooth). Add a little more water if required. Reheat if necessary, then place ¼ tsp of mango chutney in each soup bowl and pour the chowder over. Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg over each bowl and serve.