Kale and Parsnip Soup

It's another soup recipe! Until the weather changes and gets warmer I'm sticking to my soups for a work day lunch. There are so many different vegetable combinations you could try. Making your own soup is easy, healthy and cheaper than buying ready made.

My latest soup recipe was based on what vegetables had been reduced in my local supermarket! Is it just me, or are there others out there who quite look forward to a quick trip into the supermarket on the way home from work to see what has been reduced? You know the type of thing I mean, every supermarket has a section which showcases the battered and 'close to sell by date' vegetables desperate for someone to buy them.

On this occasion I picked up a bag of parsnips, a bag of coriander and a big bag of curly kale (even though my garden is full of it!) I think I just felt sorry for it. The grand total £1.45

• Kale - normally £2 - reduced to 60p
• Parsnips - normally £1 - reduce to 45p
• Coriander - normally 80p - reduced to 40p

The best bit is, I only used half of each bag in the recipe, so I have some left over for another meal. Most of the other ingredients were bought the day before from the same reduced section, bargain!

Ingredients
1 Leek, sliced
2 Sticks of celery, sliced
4 Parsnips, diced
1 Choi sum (optional), stems chopped, leaves left whole
250g Kale, roughly chopped, stalks and all
1 Bay leaf
1g Fresh coriander, chopped
1½ Litres water
6 Tsp Bouillon powder

Method
First saute the leeks in a little oil of your choice for 5 minutes, add the celery and saute for another 3 minutes. Add the parsnips with a splash of water to stop them sticking and give everything a good stir.

Make your vegetable stock by mixing the bouillon powder with the water and stir.

Add the choi sum stalks, bay leaf and vegetable stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the kale and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until the parsnips are cooked through. 

Add the coriander and turn off the heat. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender.

Transfer the blended soup to a clean saucepan and add salt and pepper to taste and heat through before serving.