Foodie Friday: hearty soups

The best food, in my humble opinion, for this time of year is a warm soup, served with crusty bread or croutons - depending on what you fancy.

Making all of these soups is super easy, provided you have a soup maker like us, because all you have to do is chop your ingredients, chuck them in and come back a little while later to your scrummy dinner all ready.

Red Pepper & Peanut Soup

You will need:

1tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic (or squeeze of puree)

2 red peppers, chopped

800ml vegetable stock

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 red chilli

125g peanut butter

Leek & Potato Soup

You will need:

280g potatoes, chopped

3 leeks, chopped

55g butter

1 onion, chopped

850ml cold vegetable stock

Spiced Lentil Soup

You will need:

150g red lentils

2 large carrots, grated

1 onion, chopped

1 small piece ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 pinch chilli flakes

1 small bunch coriander leaves

1 litre vegetable stock

Parsnip, Rhubarb & Ginger Soup

You will need:

50g butter

450g parsnips, chopped

225g rhubarb, sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 tsp ginger, grated

1 tbsp, flour

850ml vegetable stock

2 tsp light brown muscavado sugar

Spicy Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup

You will need:

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic (or squeeze of puree)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp ginger, grated

1 tsp runny honey

200g sweet potato, chopped

200g butternut squash, chopped

400g can chickpeas, drained