This recipe is a little bit of a spicy take on a hearty winter warmer. As lovely as soup is, some people with a penchant for a hotter dish can find it all a bit bland, so there is a Mexican style ‘Kick’ to this one.

Not only is this soup tasty, but it is absolutely great for you, and the addition of sweet potato means you get all of your five a day and loads of vitamin A. The ‘mixed veg’ you use is up up to you, but I just use general store bought mixed veg.

This quick recipe is inexpensive, as you can generally chuck anything in. It’s a great ‘before shopping day’ meal as you can use up the last of the veg.

Ingredients (Serves 2) 

200g mixed veg

1 sweet potato peeled and chopped into slices

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 pepper

1 green chilli (Jalepeno is possible)

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

400ml of Vegetable Stock

1 packet of ‘Ready to Wok’ noodles

Teaspoon or Paprika

Splash of Worcester Sauce

Splash of Cider Vinegar

Pinch of Mixed Herbs

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method

1. Put the mixed veg and the sweet potato slices in a pan to boil. As this soup is made quite quickly, you will want to have them near on cooked when you put them in.

2. Peel and chop the onion into small piece, and peel and crush the two garlic cloves. Fry in a pan with a little oil on a low heat until soft (about 15 minutes). The pan you use depends on preference, but I tend to use a frying pan for this part. Put a splash of Cider Vinegar on the onions.

3. Once the onions and garlic have softened add the peppers to the pan and fry for a further 10 minutes.

4. Transfer all of this to a saucepan, on a low heat with what should now be your quite cooked veg and sweet potato. Add the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. To make a better vegetable stock, use the water from the mixed veg and sweet potato and add a stock cube. If it does not make up 400ml add boiling water.

5. Once you have added all of your ingredients chop the chilli and add it in. I chop the chilli and leave the seeds on but this is personal preference.

6. Now you can start adding flavorings. I like a teaspoon of Paprika, some Worcester sauce, Mixed Herbs and Salt and Pepper, but a pinch of All Spice also add’s a great touch as well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins.

7. Add the noodles last as they are essentially already cooked. Simmer for another ten minutes. I chop my noodles with kitchen scissors to make it easier as really long noodles do not serve up very well.

Serve with Garlic  Bread.