Sweet potato, carrot, red pepper & tomato soup : Nana's 'magic' recipe

If you live in the UK, or have visited recently, you may have seen a lovely TV commercial which tells a story ... 

"When Nana, from the story, is called on to look after her poorly grandson for the afternoon, she knows something that might just make him feel better – her ‘magic’ soup. Somehow, it seems to do the trick, even though she sneaks a few ingredients into it that he doesn’t strictly like. But if he ever finds out, he won’t kick up a fuss, because it tastes so good." The wonderful thing with this advert is, it really is a good tasting soup, quite quick to make, nutritious, and not too expensive ... some would say a winner!

Ingredients:

Serves Six

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 red peppers, sliced
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

200ml (7fl oz.) light coconut milk (or regular if you prefer)
2 slices brown bread - optional
60g (2oz) Cheddar, grated - optional

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the onion until soft. In a jug, make 750ml (1 1/4 pints) stock using the stock cube and boiling water. Pour into the pan, add the sweet potato, carrots, peppers, stock and tomatoes, then season with pepper. Put a lid on the pan and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
2. If you've chosen the two optional ingredients ...preheat the grill to medium-high. Toast the bread on both sides. Sprinkle the cheese on one side of each slice and grill until melted. Cut 3 star shapes from each piece of toast using a cookie cutter or snip out star shapes with scissors.
3. Blend the soup until smooth, add the coconut milk, and season with pepper. Stir well to combine then ladle into 6 bowls and top each one with an optional  cheesy star.

Helpful Tips:
To deseed a pepper, press your thumb down on the stalk – it will break away from the sides and fall inside. Just scoop out, with the seeds, into the bin.

Any leftover coconut milk - just freeze in an ice cube tray until you make this recipe again.

Per serving:

Carbohydrate 17g Protein 5.4g Fibre 4g Fat 8.3g

From an original idea here

Sometimes, we all need a little magic ...

A variety of recipe ideas are within this blog, but please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan