Courgette latkes with tomato soup (meat free, dairy free recipe)

I’m going to grow so big and strong! – JD, 4

Back in March, a lovely little note from the customer services team at Ocado dropped into my inbox, offering me a £25 voucher with the explanation, “we’d like to have a chance to show you how good online shopping can be.”

Finding ourselves within their delivery catchment area after moving last week, I took to the Ocado recipe pages and ordered (among other things) the ingredients for a rather lovely, meat free, dairy free meal. The delivery experience was flawless and the cooking experiment a great success.

The following feeds four hungry people – the soup should be tangy and the latkes should be crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle.

Tomato soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove, sliced
• 2 Celery Sticks, sliced
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 1 Potato, chopped
• 800g tinned tomatoes,
• 750ml Vegetable Stock,
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 pinch Black Pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic and celery
2. Heat the oil on a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and celery and fry until softened
3. Meanwhile, grate the carrot and dice the potato, then add to the pan to fry for 1 minute
4. Add the tinned tomatoes with their juice, the stock, bay leaf,  sugar and seasoning
5. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.
6. When cooked, allow to cool slighly, blend in a food processor until smooth, then reheat before serving

Courgette latkes

Ingredients

• 3 courgettes
• 2 large / 4 small potatoes,
• 1  onion
• 3 eggs
• 40g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 120ml vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Grate potatoes, courgettes on the fine side of a grater
2. Finely chop the onion
3. Put all the veg in a colander and press/squeeze until it stops producing liquid
4. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and eggs together in a bowl until smooth
5. Stir in the vegetables
6. Heat the oil on high in a heavy gauge frying pan
7. Turn down to medium and add the batter in large tablespoon portions – it should sizzle
8. Cook for 5 mins on one side until browned, flip and cook for a couple more minutes until crispy
9. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Serve the soup and latkes piping hot with a couple of wedges of crusty bread. Perfect for this changeable weather and suprisingly filling.

Disclosure: Ocado gave me a £25 voucher to try out their service. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

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