Delia-esque Slow Cooked Root Vegetable Soup

I was meant to be making this soup today but at some point between reading the recipe and chopping the vegetables I managed to convince myself that I needed carrot, parsnip, celeriac and swede rather than carrot, leek, celeriac and swede. Hopefully it will still be nice (and I needed to do something with the parsnip, so it may as well go in there), and it's an excuse to make the soup again using the proper ingredients!

Root Vegetable Soup

2 carrots, sliced
3 parsnips, sliced
1/2 swede, sliced
2 small onions, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock
a little olive oil.

Fry the onions in the oil until translucent, add the other veg for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the stock and bay leaves, simmer for 15 minutes, remove the bay leaves, blend, season and serve.

(The recipe had a different balance of veg, but I just used up what I had left)

Vegetable Bake

Serves 4

2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
cooking oil spray
3 small onions, chopped
1 leek, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, sliced
1 broccoli head, cut into florets
1 parsnip, sliced
1/2 swede, sliced
850ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp plain flour
1 apple, sliced
herbs
cayenne pepper
50g low fat cheddar, grated

Cook the potato slices in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Heat the oil spray and saute the onion, leek and garlic for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes, stirring.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute*. Gradually add the stock and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the apple, herbs and cayenne pepper and season well. Remove from the heat, transfer the veg to an ovenproof dish.

Arrange the potato slices on top of the vegetable mixture and sprinkle with the cheese. Cook in an oven (190C) for 30 - 35 minutes or until the potato is golden brown and beginning to crispen.

*Note - I thought there was too much liquid and too little cheese. The cheese can be remedied, but it was only when I sat down to type this out that I noticed I'd missed out the flour stage, which might explain the liquidity.