Soup or sauce? This vibrant, veg-packed recipe gives you both options

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“This super-easy, Grab and Cook bag allows you to decide whether you fancy turning this recipe into soup or a pasta sauce simply by adjusting the amount of liquid added at the time of cooking,” says The Batch Lady, aka Suzanne Mulholland, who is back with a new book, Rapid Dinners. “This is fresh, packed full of goodness and totally delicious!”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

280g frozen peas

115g frozen diced onions

100g fresh spinach or 4 cubes frozen spinach

140g frozen broccoli florets

2 tsp frozen chopped garlic

Large handful fresh basil

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

Salt and pepper

360-720ml boiling water

Method:

IF MAKING AHEAD FOR THE FRIDGE OR FREEZER:

Place all of the ingredients in a large labelled freezer bag and seal. Freeze flat.

HOB: Tip all the frozen ingredients into a saucepan. If making soup, add 720 millilitres of boiling water. If making pasta sauce, add 360 millilitres of boiling water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for eight to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Blend until smooth and season to taste.

SLOW COOKER: Tip all the frozen ingredients into the slow cooker. If making soup, add 720 millilitres of boiling water. If making pasta sauce, add 360 millilitres of boiling water. Cook for three hours on high, or five hours on low, or until the vegetables are tender. Blend until smooth and season to taste.

IF COOKING NOW:

HOB: Put all the ingredients into a saucepan. If making soup, add 720 millilitres of boiling water. If making pasta sauce, add 360 millilitres of boiling water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for eight to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Blend until smooth and season to taste.

SLOW COOKER: Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker. If making soup, add 720 millilitres of boiling water. If making pasta sauce, add 360 millilitres of boiling water. Cook for three hours on high, or five hours on low, or until the vegetables are tender. Blend until smooth and season to taste.

Recipe from ‘The Batch Lady: Rapid Dinners’ by Suzanne Mulholland (Ebury Press, £22).