Vegetable soup

Serves 4-6

Trying to get children to eat vegetables can be a complete waste of time; still, blending seasonal vegetables into a soup can be a tasty option which goes down well with the little blighters. You can vary the vegetables according to what you've got in the fridge.

1 onion, peeled, halved and roughly chopped

1 leek, halved lengthways, roughly chopped, and washed

2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped

A couple of sprigs of thyme

A couple of good knobs of butter

1.5ltrs vegetable stock

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Cream to finish (optional)

Gently cook all of the vegetables in the butter in a covered pan for 3-4 minutes, add the stock, season, bring to the boil; simmer for 30 minutes. Blend as smoothly or as coarsely as you wish; strain through a sieve if necessary. Re-season and finish with cream if required.

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