Prepare the flavour base first, it’s the foundations the soup is built on.  Warm the oil in a large soup pot and add onion, celery, carrot and salt.  Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until onion is translucent. Add garlic, cook two minutes then add turmeric and cumin and cook two more minutes. Stir through tomato paste and thyme and cook for a further minute.

Simmer the hard ingredients next as they need more time.  To the pot, add stock and water as well as Organic Soup Mix, bay leaves, tomato granules, black pepper, hard vegetables and chilli flakes, if desired. Cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes.

Now add the softer ingredients which, for this soup, are the colourful vegetables.  Add extra stock or water, if needed. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the finishing touches to the soup just before serving.  Put in the leafy greens and simmer 5 minutes. Finally, stir through the lemon juice which will bring out the brightness of the flavours.  Remove the bay leaves.  Adjust the seasoning, if needed.

Serve in a big bowl with crusty bread.  Suitable for freezing.

VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS:

Flavour Base Vegetables: Onion, carrots, celery and garlic start off most soups.  We used the skinny stalks at the top of the celery as these often go to waste. You could also add leek at this stage, if you had it.

Hard Vegetables: We chose sweet potato, parsnip, potato, a bit more carrot and then peeled and chopped the stem from a broccoli. You could also include pumpkin, swede, turnip or chop up the stem of a cauliflower.  Nothing goes to waste with a soup like this.

Colourful Vegetables: These are the softer, brighter ones that take less time to cook. We used green beans, red capsicum, yellow squash and zucchini but use whatever you have available in the fridge or freezer. It’s a good chance to use those that are just past their prime.

Leafy Greens: We used silverbeet but kale or spinach would also be delicious. You could also add frozen peas, if preferred.