Madhouse recipe : Souperhero Soup !

Sorry about the name - it was a ploy to get Pierre eating more vegetables without complaining (and it worked !) and, as we went a bit superhero mad this weekend (more to follow about that in my next blogpost), it fitted in perfectly with the theme. The grown-ups might prefer to call it Bacon & Veg Soup though !

Souperhero Soup 

ingredients :

250g bacon pieces

2 onions

1 leek

3 carrots

3 potatoes

3 mushrooms

1 can chickpeas

1 stick celery

3 tomatoes

some liquid - chicken/vegetable stock or just water (I used a Knorr vegetable stock pot and a Knorr paprika stock pot because they needed using up)

some herbs/spices (I used garlic granules, black pepper, salt, oregano)

I got the kids involved in choosing and prepping the ingredients so that they'd be more likely to eat the finished product.

Fry off the bacon pieces and onion for a few minutes until they're just cooked.

Toss in the leeks and potato.

Throw in the carrots and celery.

Add the mushrooms, chick peas and tomatoes.

Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, to give it all some colour, then add enough liquid to cover all the ingredients. Add the stock cubes/stock pots if using, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about half an hour. You could eat this right now for a chunky version.

Or blitz it with a hand blender (which is a handy way of disguising the veggies !). I like to leave some small chunks but you could make it really smooth. Add extra water if it's too thick.

Top with a little grated cheese and some croutons. You could also add a swirl of crème fraîche just before serving. It's a really filling, warming and kid-friendly soup that the whole family can enjoy.

Linking up to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because it used up half a tin of chickpeas from the fridge, a lone stick of celery from the freezer and some stockpots that are past their sell-by date !