Homemade Chunky Vegetable Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 carrots (thinly sliced)
2 leeks (thinly sliced)
2 parsnips (cut into 5mm cubes)
2 celery ribs (thinly sliced)
1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
1/4 medium swede (cut into 5mm cubes)
1 (400 g) can chopped tomatoes
1 garlic clove (crushed)
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
2 -3 pints vegetable stock
50 g small shell pasta (dry weight)
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation

Place all the vegetables and chopped tomatoes in a very large pan. Add the garlic, bacy leaf, salt and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1-1.5 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the pasta shapes and dried oregano.
When the soup is cooked, remove the bay leaf and discard. Season to taste and serve. (If a thick soup is preferred, place half the vegetalbes in a liquidiser and puree, then stir back into the remaining vegetables).