Slow Cooker Courgette Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion (medium sized)
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 knob butter
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 3 courgettes (medium sized - not too big)
• 1 potato (medium, or 2 small)
• 1 stock cube or stock pot (vegetable or chicken)
• pepper and salt (to taste)
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 handful fresh chopped herbs
• 3 tbsp cream (double or single according taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel and chop the onion. Top and tail the celery and chop. Peel and chop the garlic. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and then gently fry the onion and celery for about 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Add the garlic and seasoning and cook for about a minute.

3. 3

   Trim and chop the courgettes and dice the potatoes into even sized pieces. Place in the slow cooker along with the onion mix and the stock cube.

4. 4

   Boil the kettle and add two cups of hot water to the slow cooker pot. Make sure the stock cube is submerged but don't be tempted to add extra water to cover the vegetables, as they will release water in cooking.

5. 5

   Put the lid on and cook for 2–3 hours on High. Stir half way through cooking.

6. 6

   Use a stick blender to blend to a smooth, velvety soup. Add pepper and salt to taste, and add a generous squeeze of lemon juice. If you want to make a cream soup, blend this in too.

7. 7

   Serve hot or chilled, garnished with the chopped fresh herbs.