Spicy Vegetable Soup

We had this lovely soup for lunch today, was just the thing for a wet autumnal day.  I served it with homemade wholemeal crusty bread rolls.  It freezes well and is fab for a lunchtime treat if you take it to work in a flask or heat it up in the staff room microwave.  Use less harissa if you prefer your soup to have a milder flavour.

2 tsp olive oil

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 Tblsp harissa

1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 pepper (red, orange or yellow), finely chopped

200g cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes

200g thin green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2 inch (1cm) lengths

2 Tblsp couscous

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped onion and cook it for 5 - 7 minutes, stirring it about until it softens.  Add the harissa to the softened onion and stir it about for 1 minute or so until it's fragrant.

Add the finely chopped carrot, pepper, small cauliflower florets, tins of tomatoes and 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) of cold water to the saucepan.  I just fill up one of the empty tins of tomatoes with cold water and pour it in to the saucepan, it's about right volume wise and you also get to rinse out the tin so you use all the tomatoes.  Cover the saucepan and bring everything to the boil.  Reduce the heat to medium. Remove the lid and then simmer the soup uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender and the soup has reduced and thickened slightly.

Stir in the green beans and couscous.  Cook the soup for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the green beans are tender. I always serve this soup with crusty bread.