Vegetable soups are healthy, inexpensive and easy to make. By following a few basic steps, you can make a hearty and nutritious soup from just about any vegetable that you have on hand. Here's how:

In a large, heavy-based pot, sauté a finely chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Throw in a little salt and pepper, cook until the onion is soft (stirring every so often), which should take around five minutes.

Add 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock to the pot, then throw in your vegetables of choice (1 kilo approx, see below for preparation details). Add enough water to cover the vegetables, bring the pot to boil then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender - this will take around 20 minutes depending on how hard the vegetables are.

Once the vegetables are cooked, purée the soup in a blender and return to the pot. Taste the soup, then season with more salt and pepper if desired. If the soup is very thick, add water to the pot and stir it in before serving.

Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, beets and just about any type of squash make great soup. If you're going to use root vegetables, you should chop them into 2cm chunks before throwing into the pot. To make broccoli soup, chop up the florets, peel the stalks and cut them into 1cm chunks. Experiment with whatever veggies you have in your fridge, and try different combos to find your best blend.

To add flavour to your soup, you can try seasoning with lemon juice or a little maple syrup.

Vegetable soups freeze really well, so are great to make in bulk and keep in the freezer.

Bon appetite!