Spending hours cooking elaborate meals each night isn’t always feasible when most of us lead pretty busy lives. Instead of gobbling up rounds of toast when you get in from a long day, why not make a pot of this soup and freeze it in portions, so you always have something nutritious to feast on?

Sweet potatoes make up the bulk of this dish and they contain both soluble and insoluble fibres, which work together to improve gut health, reduce blood sugar levels and keep you feeling fuller for longer. This makes it a great soup to take to work and reheat in the microwave to avoid those mid-afternoon hunger pangs. 

Coconut milk adds a delicious creamy texture (and keeps the dish vegan) and provides a big boost of potassium, magnesium and manganese, which aid hydration, nerve function and tissue recovery.

This soup doesn’t even need to be defrosted before reheating – simply plop it in the pan with a little water and break it up as it warms. 

Serves: 4

1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

1 cup (115g) frozen chopped onions

2 tsp frozen chopped garlic

1 tsp frozen chopped ginger

2–3 tbsp Thai green curry paste

1 cup (175g) frozen sliced peppers

500g bag frozen sweet potato chunks

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

3 cups (720ml) vegetable stock

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp frozen chopped coriander

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crusty bread and butter, to serve (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until soft.

2. Add the curry paste to the pan and stir to combine with the onions, then add the peppers, sweet potato chunks, coconut milk and vegetable stock and stir again.

3. Bring the soup to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and leave to cook, covered, for 30 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender.

4. Remove the pan from the heat, then use a stick blender to blend the soup until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper, then stir through the lime juice and coriander.

IF MAKING AHEAD TO FREEZE:

Set the soup aside to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a large, labelled freezer bag (a soup or sauce bag is perfect for this) and freeze flat for up to 3 months. This can be reheated from defrosted or while frozen. 

Recipe taken from The Batch Lady: Cooking On A Budget by Suzanne Mulholland (£22, HQ, HarperCollins), out now. 

Image: Haarala Hamilton