Vegetable Soup with Crusty Oats Rolls

As long as I was in  India , I was familiar with very few types of soups like Chinese style soup, which we have only in restaurants. Chicken soup which we make in home for babies or for women after delivery. Finally our very famous Nombu Kanji( a rice based porridge with vegetables or meat and mildly spiced).
  Now with the magic of Internet and few travel experiences have introduced me to so many different types of soup like cold soup,British style soup, French soup, Noodle soup...... the list just keeps going. Once I even saw some chocolate soup made by a celebrity chef , I don't remember his name exactly but I definitely remember it was white chocolate soup with scones.
  Soups are always a comforting and filling food for people of all ages at any time. I always prefer a bowl of soup with some crusty bread  for a light and satisfying meal. This particular soup is a simple English style soup which is prepared with potatoes and stock as base. Just with this basic recipe you can make so many different types of soup. I was actually planning to make some broccoli soup but I ended up adding all the remaining bits of vegetables I had which resulted in this heart warming bowl of vegetable soup.

Vegetable Soup

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Leeks- 1 small sized roughly chopped
Onion- 1 small sized chopped finely
Potato- 1 small sized chopped finely
Celery- 3 sticks chopped
Carrot- 1 medium sized roughly chopped
Broccoli- 1/2 of 1 broccoli
Olive oil- 3 tsp
Garlic- 3 pods chopped roughly
Vegetable stock/ Chicken stock - 1/2 litre
Milk- 2 tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste.
Method:
Prepare the stock:
If  you are using a shop bought stock, prepare according to the instructions. Remember whenever you are using a shop bought one, don't get the one with cornstarch or additional flavours in it, these stocks will completely ruin your soup texture and flavour. A good soup should have a good stock. I have a recipe for chicken stock, you can check that. To make a vegetable stock follow the same instructions without chicken.
Prepare the vegetables:
Chop the vegetables roughly and set aside.
Make the soup:
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, which is a bit deeper. Add the garlic, then onion. Don't let them brown. Reduce the heat to medium, quickly add all the vegetables one by one and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Take care not to burn at the bottom. Add the stock, cover the pan and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then finally add the milk. Let it cool down for a while, then blend it in a blender until smooth. Return to the pan again and heat it up. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup warm with some crusty rolls.


Crusty Oats Rolls

Serves 2
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 to 25 minutes + rising time

Ingredients:
Dough:
White Bread Flour- 150 g/ 6 oz
Wholemeal flour- 50 g/ 2 oz
Rolled oats- 20 g/ approximately 1 oz
Dried yeast- 1 tsp
Warm water- 120 ml ( adjust accordingly when kneading the dough)
Honey- 2 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Toppings:
Mixed seeds- 1 tbsp( optional)
Milk- 1 tbsp( for glaze)

Method:
Prepare the dough:
Mix all the dough ingredients in a large bowl, make it into a smooth dough by kneading with your hands or a electric mixer.
Place the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover with a cling film and allow it to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Make the rolls:
Take the raised dough. Divide the dough in to 5 small rounds. Place it in a baking tray. Cover loosely with a cling film and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes.
Bake the rolls:
Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Take the rolls, brush with milk and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Serve the rolls warm with soup.


The soup and the bread goes to my own event Eat Well, Live Well- Heart Friendly Recipes. The soup goes to  Souper Sundays of Kahakai Kitchen, The Soup event by I-m-not-a-Chef.
The Crusty Oats Rolls goes to Dish Name starts with C by Akila, Bake- Off by Champa and yeastspotting.