Vegetable Cheese Soup

 

 The weather today has been totally pants . . . showers, rain, showers, rain . . . and even more rain!!! With a bit of rain in between the showers! In other words . . . horrid.

   

 The one day this week that we had nothing to do and too blah to go anywhere . . . It's even thundering.

   

 It's even a bit chilly! brrr . . .

   

 Soup weather. Definitely soup weather.

   

 It's a good thing I have a vegetable drawer that needs emptying.

   

 Soup on a rainy day? It's a good thing. 

  *Vegetable and Cheese Soup* 

Serves 4 

Printable Recipe 

This is a delicious soup. You can easily make croutons by tossing bread cubes in oil and baking them for about 10 to 12 minutes in a hot oven, until crisp, topping with some cheese halfway through the baking time. Scrummy yummy! 

 1 ounce butter (1/8 cup) 

1 TBS olive oil 

1 onion, peeled and chopped 

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped 

2 sticks of celery chopped 

1 pound 4 ounce of mixed root vegetables, peeled and chopped (potatoes, swedes, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes) 

1 litre of Vegetable stock (4 cups) 

5 ounces mature cheddar cheese, divided (see recipe) (about 1 1/2 cups) 

1 TBS wholegrain mustard 

sea salt and black pepper to taste 

cheesy croutons to serve 

 Heat the butter and oil together in a large pan. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add the other vegetables, give them a good stir to coat with the fat. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. 

 Reduce the heat and cover. Sweat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until tender. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Cover and then simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. 

 Using a stick blender, puree until smooth. Grate half of the cheese and cut the other half into small cubes. Return the soup to the heat and stir in most of the grated cheese and all of the cubes, along with the mustard. 

 Heat stirring until the cheese begins to melt. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated bowls and top with the cheesy croutons and the rest of the cheese to serve.