Winter Vegetable Soup via www.epicurious.com

So it's January.  A new year.  I've spent the last month and a half eating every single pre-packed festive sandwich I could get my hands on as well as gorging on pies, pasties, pickles and cake sliding down the long gastronomic gulley of gluttony and landing firmly in a large tin of Quality Street.  It's time I got my act together, right?  So to kick off 2012 I thought I would make something healthy which includes more than just a nod to one of my five a day (fruit cake, apparently, doesn't count).  I've made soup before.  Of course I have but I need to ease myself back into the kitchen (having spent the majority of December dining out in other's). 

I've never tried making a vegetable soup (seriously!) so I thought I'd give this one a go from one of my favourite recipe sources, Epicurious. 

The ingredients were all easy to get hold of and the recipe was extremely simple and quick.  Any beginner could give this a shot and end up with a rewarding result.  I made a few of my own personal preference adaptations to the original.  Instead of olive oil, I used butter.  I'm talking Gary Rhodes quantities of butter too i.e. a heck of a lot!  Don't judge me.  I know I am meant to be going on a health drive but I prefer it in my soups and I'm not Gillian McKeith for crying out loud!  Additionally I thought dill was a bit of a strange herb for a soup?  Give it a shot if you like but I prefer thyme and parsley with veggies so in they went instead.  I also used total chicken stock rather than chicken stock and water.  Of course, if you are vegetarian you can substitute this with vegetable stock/water instead.

I managed to over do it a tad on the thyme so ruined my own soup a bit (probably pay back for not using the dill!)  However, it was extremely satisfying and was even better when left overnight and reheated for lunch the next day.  Serve with crusty bread (no I didn't make my own - I'm not Delia for crying out loud!) and voila!  A healthy, hearty meal.  Enjoy!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 pound sweet potato, peeled and cubed (1/2 inch)
• 1/2 pound Yukon Gold or boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed (1/2 inch)
• 2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Cook onion with bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon salt in oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add sweet potato, Yukon Golds, broth, water, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Purée 1 cup soup in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) and return to pot. Bring to a simmer, then stir in peas and dill and cook until peas are heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.