Winter Warmer Soup

There is something about the chilly air and crispness of the days in Winter that make me always long for soup. I love soup, especially with fresh crusty bread, enjoyed with friends and family under a cold, grey sky or rugged up in front of glowing fire embers with a great book.

Soup makes me think of scarves, boots and winter colours, fallen leaves, houses warmed by baking and the warming scents of spices.

It is a wonderful time of year to be baking in the kitchen and I make a lot of soup through Winter and this recipe here is so easy and so healthy.
You dont need to be a really experienced cook, have a big veggie patch or hours of time on your hands. This can be easily whipped after for a family dinner and is a perfect meal idea for when you are tired, cold and hungry after a long day.
It has lots of added goodness and protein and one of my favourte spices, turmeric, which has great health benefits.

It is so simple and yet so delicious...

Ingredients

• 1 Maleny IGA vegetable soup-pack (find me in the fruit & vegetable section)
• 1 Maleny IGA dry soup-mix (find me with the lentils & pulses)
•  4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 teaspoons Goumet Garden garlic
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 medium fresh red chilli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Karim Himalyan salt to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method

• In a deep saucepan sauté the onion in the oil with the garlic and cumin until slightly wilted.
•  Add in the chilli, turmeric, garam masala, stir through.
•  Chop and peel vegetables from the Maleny vegetable soup pack, add into the onion mixture and stir together for a few minutes.
•  Pour in the stock, tomatoes and lentil mix.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and bring to the boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring occasionally until lentils are cooked and vegetables are all cooked through.
• Add additional water if needed but only a small amount at a time.
• Taste test and season to taste.
• Serve with crunchy bread like Essential Grain spelt sour dough or olive bread.

Notes

• Using the ready to go soup packs makes this a really simple and cost effective soup for the whole family.
• Give the soup extra heat by adding more fresh chilli and you can give it more of a cold beating boost by adding to taste extra fresh Australian garlic.

Toddler Tips

• Increase their interest in soup by serving it in a fun bowl with toasted bread soldiers for dipping.
• A really dense sour dough bread roll can be hollowed out and filled with room temperature soup for a funky serving style.
• Call it dinosaur swamp soup and serve with dinosaur shaped toast soldiers.
• Add a healthy noodle/angel hair pasta into the soup a few minutes before serving, served when cooked.

This recipe is part of the Maleny IGA Local Product Local Recipe - free recipe card series.

You can collect this card and everything to make this recipe in store.

Maleny IGA - Make it easier to support locals.

www.malenyiga.com.au 

Recipeandphotography(c)2013RebeccaMugridge