Slow Cooker Vegetable Masala Soup

The last food I think about in the summer is soup but it is very nutritious. Although I do believe we should eat more cooling foods during summer and warming foods during winter I still like a bowl of soup any time of the year. Eating a bowl of hot soup on a warm summers day can help to bring the body into balance with the toasty environment.

When we consume soup on a hot summers day it raises our body temperature. It sends a signal to our gauge to cool us down as a result. The sweat from our bodies will begin to evaporate and this will help to cool us down. Therefore hot soup on a summer’s day can not only be comforting but also cooling as well. The spices in this dish will also have a cooling effect on the body. The soup is not only tasty and heathly, it’s helpful too. We loved it and we hope you do too.

What foods do you like to eat on a hot summers day, if any? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like and follow me.

Serves 4

Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Slow cooker
• Jug
• Teaspoon
• Stirring spoon
• Blender
• Saucepan

Ingredients

• Dried cannellini beans x 200g
• Onion x 1
• Butternut squash x 1 small 200g
• Carrots x 1 large
• Milk x 1 ltr (of your choice)
• Chicken or vegetable stock x 250mls
• Garam masala x 2 tsp
• Dried mixed herbs x 1 tsp
• Ground sweet cinnamon x 1 tsp
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cook the cannellini beans as per the packet instruction if using dried.
• If using tinned drain and wash the beans through the beans.
• Once they are drained and washed put the beans in the slow cooker.
• Peel, slice and dice the onion.
• Put the diced onion into the pot.
• Peel the carrot and the butternut squash using the vegetable peeler.
• Cut the carrot into slices and put into the slow cooker pot.
• Slice the butternut squash in half and remove any seeds.
• Now cut the butternut squash into 1 centimetre pieces and put the pieces into the pot as well.
• Sprinkle over the garam masala, dried mixed herbs and ground sweet cinnamon.
• Pour over the chicken stock and milk.
• Add salt and pepper to your tastes.
• Stir all these ingredients together.
• Turn the slow cooker on for 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low.
• Once the soup has cooked turn the slow cooker off, remove the lid and then leave to cool.
• When the soup is cool use the ladle to pour it into the blender.
• Now blend all the ingredients together.
• You may need to blend the ingredients in two or three batches.
• Also you will need a two litre jug to pour the batches in.
• When all the batches are blended pour into a saucepan and heat through until warm enough to serve.
• Then serve and enjoy.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Masala Soup was a successful meal in our house. My husband Howard and son Ted don’t shy away from the occasional bowl of soup. Ted’s favourite soup are my chicken soup and tomato. Apart from that he’s normally never impressed when I tell him it’s soup for dinner. On this occasion he didn’t mind this soup. Ted did say it wasn’t his favourite but it was ok. One of the main reasons I like soup is that I can hid lots of vegetables in it. Ted is a slightly fussy eater so I’m always trying to think of new ways to fed him vegetables without him knowing they are in the meal. Soup is one of the best ways and it normally works every time. It’s a great dish to make a large batch of and freeze as well. However you decide to eat this dish, as always, please enjoy. Thank you xxx