Tasty soups without stock

I used to think that to make tasty soup, you needed to start with good stock. However, making stock isn't a quick process and I've never been completely happy with store bought stocks. Most have too many additives for my liking and often leave an unpleasant aftertaste. I preferred to use Massel all vegetable chicken style stock powder if stock was called for in recipes.My first 'soup without stock' trial was when I made this Vegetable and lentil soup. I was trying to cut down on my use of processed foods and as I had lots of flavoursome ingredients going into this soup, did it really also need artificial flavour from stock powder? What was in the powdered stock anyway? List of ingredients included yeast, salt, sugar, vegetable flavours, chilli and turmeric. Well, I already had lots of natural vegetables flavours so added a pinch of turmeric and chilli! Result? A deliciously fresh tasting soup.

Pumpkin and cauliflower soups were next. They had fewer ingredients, so will they be as tasty? Most definitely, but to enhance the flavour:

• • use butter to saute the vegetables

  • season well

  • use garlic, herbs and spices

  • don't put too much water, just enough to cover the vegetables and simmer gently until vegetable are cooked

  • add a potato