Cream of Vegetable Soup (Zelda: BOTW)

Just a caveat! While the soup from Zelda was my inspiration, this soup is full of my own additions and twists that make it almost a whole new beast!

Ingredients

Soup:

1 courgette (175g)

1 red onion (155g)

Chestnut mushrooms (90g)

1 leek (100g)

3 large garlic cloves

1 large red bell pepper (145g)

12 cherry tomatoes (130g)

1 tsp unsalted butter (7g)

1 tsp dried ginger

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 rich beef stock pot

500 ml boiling water

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

250ml semi-skimmed milk

Basil and Avocado sauce:

10 large fresh basil leaves

Half a teaspoon salt

Half a teaspoon pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Half an avocado (70g)

1 tsp sugar (to taste)

Method (Makes 4 bowls)

1. Preheat an oven to 180C fan/ 200C conventional.

2. While the oven preheats, start your veg prep. Top, tail and peel your red onion, before halving lengthways and slice into semicircles. Mince your garlic cloves, top and tail and slice your courgettes into discs and then quarter those discs. Slice your mushrooms horizontally and slice your leeks into 1 inch discs. Place these all to the side.

3. Next slice the top off your pepper and remove the seeds before cutting the remaining pepper into four equal pieces, cutting almost like the sides of a square. Slice your cherry tomatoes in half. Place both into tin foil on a baking tray and season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 35 mins until soft and beginning to char slightly.

4. While the peppers and tomatoes cook, place the butter in a saucepan along with your courgette, onions, garlic and some salt and pepper and sauté on medium heat for 5 mins.

5. Next add in the mushrooms to the saucepan, along with your leeks, ginger and paprika. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

6. While the mushrooms and leeks soften, place your stock pot into jug along with the tomato paste and thyme, before topping up with the 500ml boiling water and whisk together.

7. After the 5 minutes have done, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and cook for a further three minutes, before adding the beef stock to the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until reduced.

8. While this reduces, prepare the basil and avocado sauce.

9. Place the basil leaves, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, avocado and sugar into a food processor and blend until smooth and combined. Spoon out into a bowl and leave.

10. Once the soup has reduced and the tomatoes and peppers have roasted, leave both to cool for 5 minutes.

11. First blend the soup mix in a food processor for 1-2 minutes, before adding in the peppers and tomatoes while continuing to blend. Finally pour the milk in slowly whilst continuing to blend.

12. To serve, spoon into bowls and swirl a teaspoon of the basil and avocado sauce into the centre, as well as dotting some small parts around the bowl. Finish with a sprig of fresh basil! Enjoy!