Chunky Vegetable Slow Cooker Soup

I love slow cooker Sundays. This winter my slow cooker has become a favourite, I love to crank it up in the morning before I start doing my laundry and household chores. It feels as though I have really accomplished something when I am freezing containers of soup at the end of the day. And this soup goes down a treat for work lunches with fresh bread.

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 knob of butter

2 medium sized leeks, white part only, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6-8 baby carrots, chopped

6-8 gourmet potatoes, chopped

410g can chopped tomatoes, undrained

125g can chickpeas

2 cups vegetable stock

Coarsely ground sea salt to taste

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

A sprinkle of ground cumin (you can omit this, I just love cumin in soups)

You can also add your choice of grains or soup pasta; lentils go well.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add leek, garlic, cumin and a pinch of sea salt; fry for a few minutes until fragrant.  I like the taste of butter with leek so I throw in a knob of butter as the leek is cooking. You can omit this.

Place all ingredients except parsley into a slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. If you are adding soup pasta, add it in the last half hour of cooking time. And don’t be too generous with the amount, it seriously expands once cooked.

I like to cook my soup on low for 5-6 hours, the smell of soup cooking on a winter Sunday is just bliss!

Add parsley once cooked and serve with fresh bread. Winter comfort!