It’s raining; it’s pouring…and I’m in the need of a one pot winter warmer to keep me going! This tasty soup certainly meets my needs; it includes a spicy chorizo sausage to warm me up, lots of fibre and protein and heaps of nutritious vegetables. It’s actually so thick, that you could even call it a casserole.

Ingredients

• 1 L (4 cups) beef stock
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large chorizo sausage or 2 smaller ones, sliced
• 700 ml tomato passata jar
• 400 g red kidney bean tin, drained
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 parsnip, chopped
• 1 swede, chopped
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• fresh or dried thyme
• 2 or 3 fresh or dried bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large heavy bottomed casserole dish, saute the onion, garlic, celery and chorizo in the olive oil. Add in the rest of the chopped vegetables and warm them through before adding the beef stock and the passata. Also add in the red kidney beans, thyme and bay leaves. You may also want to add in a little bit more water, if you like a thinner soup.

Bring the soup to the boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer with the lid on for approximately an hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. I always like to cool my soups and casseroles before I reheat them to concentrate the flavours before serving. We all know how good leftovers taste the following day!

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a slice of crusty bread. This soup serves four hungry people as a main course, or six for a lunch time meal.

Enjoy!

Even the wildlife liked the smell of this winter warmer, as we had a visit from a kookaburra. The poor thing does look a bit miserable in the rain though.