In my house soups happen more by accident than by design – usually because I need to use up some vegetables before they go off. Having said that, on Friday I made gazpacho as the weather had been sweltering and a friend was coming for lunch so I planned to make that traditional cold Spanish soup. In the end it rained all day and instead of going for a walk in the woods we stayed in and watched ‘I am legend’ as if it was autumn (and because we were in the mood for a zombie apocalypse). The next day it was hot again.

This leek and courgette soup is vegan and only needs three main ingredients. I use water from a boiled kettle rather than stock – I hardly ever use stock in vegetarian soups.

You can also eat this soup warm if your weather is as unpredictable as mine is.

Makes four large servings.

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, washed well and sliced (make sure you remove any grit)
• 2 courgettes, washed and sliced
• 1 medium potato, washed and diced
• Water from a freshly boiled kettle
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Warm the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the leeks, courgettes and potato for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add enough boiling water to cover the vegetables and a bit more (a couple of centimetres). Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Blend to a smooth consistency (I use a stick blender). Taste for seasoning (I think this soup needs plenty of pepper).
4. Cool and then chill for a couple of hours in the fridge.