Throw it all together Thai soup

It's Winter, so healthy eating just got about 100x harder. Who wants to come in from the freezing cold and sit down to a limp salad?! My friend Nicola inspired me a few weeks ago by making this incredible vegetable soup, and taught me how to do it. I had always steered clear of things like this because I would imagine it's quite difficult, but it literally could not be easier. Even better, cook up a gigantic broth and you have healthy, cosy and delicious meals for the rest of the week sorted!

Because this is a 'Thai' soup, I'll tell you in a nutshell how to make a thick, vegetable one (like I did a couple of weeks ago!) Basically collect your chosen vegetables together (broccoli, leek and potatoes work well), boil them for an hour, then whizz them up with a food processor! Hey presto - soup that fills you up but is unbelievably healthy.

Today, though, I went a little more adventurous and tried to make a sweet and sour soup. It was one of those throw-everything-together days, and it came out amazingly! (After my boyfriend Dima intervened, I may have put a little too much chilli in the start).

Recipe for Throw it together thai soup 

• 2 Peppers
• Mushrooms - every type you can find! I used big 'ordinary' ones as a base, then added a pack of mixed dried mushrooms which was amazing (shitake, oyster etc)
• Sweetcorn - I used the baby sweetcorn you find in packs.
• 2 Pork steaks, finely chopped
• 1 Chilli
• Lemongrass stick
• Ginger
• 1 Onion
• 2 Cloves of Garlic 
• Zest of Lime
• Coconut Milk 
• Fish Sauce - splash 
• Rice/Wine Vinegar - 1/4 cup
• 1/2 a teaspoon of white pepper
• Cornflour
• Coriander
• Stock cubes (1 per 250ml water)

1. Chop everything up, and set a BIG soup pan of water and stock to boil, depending on how much you want to make. I made about a litre of soup, but it will last me all week! 

2. In a pan, fry together the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. 

3.When done, throw it in the hot stock. Add your finely-as-possible chopped pork.

4. Then add all of the other vegetables - pepper, mushrooms, sweetcorn whatever else you decide to add. Throw in the rice wine vinegar, lemongrass and pepper too.

5. Leave to all boil together for 20-30 mins, then add 1/3 of the coconut milk and a splash of fish sauce. Mix a bit of cornflour and cold water together to make a paste, and add that too to thicken up the soup.

6. Finish it off with coriander and grated lime zest. Tuck in and enjoy! 

Hope you like it, let me know how yours turn out! Remember this is a 'made up' (yet exceptionally good) recipe so just follow your own instincts when measuring/adding things.