Spiced Root Vegetable Soup

It's November. It's autumnal outside with the leaves turning red and gold, the clouds turning grey and the air turning damp with fog. It's most definitely comfort food season.

All I could think about for the past few days is how much I wanted some soup. Seriosuly. On Monday I nearly bought a soup when I went to see my brother in Norwich. I settled on sharing a panini with him but he said the soups are excellent (so I might have one next Monday). Al and I went food shopping yesterday and I seized the opportunity to buy loads of vegetables. I could have used the slow cooker to cook the soup overnight so that people could take it to work for lunch but I wasn't organised enough last night. Instead I decided to make it fresh for lunch and ensure there are enough leftovers for my dad to take to work tomorrow.

The soup is warming and hearty. The spice is subtle and allows the vegetable flavour to come through. The carrots and parsnip make it sweet and aonce blended it is think and substantial. Perfect with crusty rolls or bread.

Ingredients
4 medium carrots
1 large onion
2 medium parsnips
A chunk of swede (it's impossible to tell how much I used. I just hacked a chunk off and chucked it in)
1-2 tbsp oil
2-3 tsp cumin powder
2-3 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp balti paste
Enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables in your pan (I used home made chicken stock as I had some in the freezer to use up)
Plenty of black pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method
Chop all the vegetables into similar sized chunks (so they cook at the same rate) and place in a large saucepan with the oil. Fry gently for 5-10 minutes.
Add the spices and paste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Pour the stock over the vegetables until it mostly covers them.
Put a lid on the pan and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender or liquidiser until smooth.
Add plenty of black pepper and lemon juice to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve with bread and real butter.

It really is that simple. It takes about 30 minutes tops to get this soup ready to eat and it's delicious.