Homemade Chunky Vegetable Soup

Tasty vegetable soup.... kids love it, I love making it as it is really easy and suitable for vegetarians. Excellant on a cold winter day!

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  carrots (thinly sliced)
• 2  leeks (thinly sliced)
• 2  parsnips (cut into 5mm cubes)
• 2  celery ribs (thinly sliced)
• 1  medium onion (thinly sliced)
• 1⁄4 medium swede (cut into 5mm cubes)
• 1 (400 g) can chopped tomatoes
• 1  garlic clove (crushed)
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 2 -3  pints  vegetable stock
• 50  g small shell pasta (dry weight)
• 1  teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Place all the vegetables and chopped tomatoes in a very large pan. Add the garlic, bacy leaf, salt and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1-1.5 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
2. 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the pasta shapes and dried oregano.
3. When the soup is cooked, remove the bay leaf and discard. Season to taste and serve. (If a thick soup is preferred, place half the vegetalbes in a liquidiser and puree, then stir back into the remaining vegetables).