Last week, a friend told me that all vegetable soups were bland.  Well, they aren’t, actually!  This soup is yum yum yum and the pesto adds a different dimension to it.  The mix of veges I have used here work really well together, but can be swapped around depending on what veges you have on hand.  I love the bursts of sweetness the corn give so recommend you don’t leave it out.

Pesto
100g kale leaves (no stems)
100g cashews, toasted in a pan until golden
70g extra virgin olive oil
20g lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Soup
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered
75g leek, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
20g extra virgin olive oil
400g roma tomatoes, quartered
220g zucchini, roughly chopped
180g carrot, roughly chopped
150g cabbage, roughly chopped
80g green capsicum, roughly chopped
75g celery, roughly chopped
2 tbs vegetable stock concentrate
600g water
180g corn kernels
20g lemon juice

1. Place Pesto ingredients in mixer bowl. TURBO/a few times/MC on, until it reaches your desired consistency. Transfer to a bowl, set aside.

2. Place onion, leek, garlic and oil into mixer bowl. Chop for 5 seconds/speed 5/MC on. Scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat.  Saute for 5 minutes/steaming temperature/speed 1/MC off.

3. Add tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, cabbage, capsicum, celery and stock paste concentrate. Chop for 30 seconds/speed 4/MC on (you may need to use the Thermomix spatula to assist with this).

4. Add water. Cook for 5 minutes/100/reverse/speed 3/MC on. Reduce to speed 2 and cook for a further 15 minutes/100/reverse/MC on.

5. Add corn kernels and lemon juice. Cook for 2 minutes/100/reverse/speed 1/MC on.

6. Serve soup in bowls, with a dollop of kale pesto in each.