Spiced winter vegetable soup

One of the best things about winter is enjoying some piping hot soup for lunch or dinner. My favourite is a winter vegetable soup. It’s warming and comforting when the winds blowing and the rain is coming down – and it’s sure been like that so far this week.   On Sunday I headed to our local market and stocked up on lots of veges perfect for making soup – pumpkin, parsnip, carrots and onions.  The result – this delicious soup flavoured with a little smoked sweet paprika, turmeric and cumin.    It makes a big batch that you can enjoy for a number of days, or freeze in individual containers to take to work on those days you just don’t have time to prepare anything.

 

Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon oil
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin
2 parsnips
1 small pumpkin
4 carrots
3 cups vegetable stock

Crush the cloves of garlic and place in a large pot with the oil.  Add chopped onions and the spices. Heat over a medium heat, stiring until the onions start to soften.  Peel and chop the vegetables into similar sized pieces.  Place in pot along with the vegetable stock.  Bring to the boil and let the vegetables simmer until soft.  Blend with a stick blender and you’re done!  This makes quite a thick soup, but you can add extra stock to thin it out if you wish.

Serve with a spoon of natural yoghurt and a spring of coriander.

Nutritionally, the soup provides a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and some vitamin B6.

Turmeric does more than add a lovely colour too. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, and works to reduce inflammation in the body.   Many chronic diseases are associated with chronic inflammation, so it’s an excellent spice to add to your diet.   Turmeric has been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, stable blood sugar levels and helps reduce pain associated with arthritis (Reference).