I don’t know if it is just me – but my fridge tends to build up on a number of vegetables that I don’t use either because I forget them, I don’t use the whole batch of whatever I buy, I buy something new before the old ones have been used (most often because the kids head for the fridge and grab the fresh stuff or something else. In any case, I do need to empty the fridge once in a while. AND they often end up in stews or soups as it doesn’t matter if they have gone slightly wrinkled and bad. If there is a black dot on the carrots, this usually comes off when peeling them. If there is a soft spot on a pepper or a tomato – I cut it off. As long as you do not add rotten produce into the pot, you are fine.

Anyway – here is an example of a creamed mixed vegetable soup made of whatever was hidden in my fridge. You can pretty much mix and match anything – this was just what I had the current day.

Ingredients

4 small carrots

200-250 grams mixed tomatoes

2 leaves/shells of fennel

2 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

1/2 white onion

3 spring onions

the core celery sticks

2 tbsp olive oil

1 good tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 liter chicken stock

200 ml cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Begin with chopping up all of the ingredients. Heat the oil in an appropriate pot and add the onion and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until soft and golden. Add the vegetables and fry these along with the onion and garlic to add taste. Add the butter and let it melt. Add the 2 tbsp flour and make sure to mix and stir well for a few minutes making sure that it is been well heated. Add the chicken stock and now cook the lot until nice and tender. Depending on how fine you have chopped the vegetables, expect to let it cook for 20 minutes.

If you have a hand held blender, this is one of the dishes you can prepare in minutes, as you don’t even have to change the pot. In other words, blend well and finally add the cream, heat it up, add salt and papper to taste – – and it is all done!

The amazing thing about these soups is, that you can pretty much use any mix of vegetables. In this particular soup, I had a small piece of chili that I used and therefore, I did not feel that I needed other spices. However, sometimes I add a good handful of basil, or if there is a good amount of broccoli or cauliflower in it, I might add a bit of sage. There are no limits – only your fridge 😉