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London Unattached - London Lifestyle Blog

Luxury London Lifestyle Blog for the over 40s with food, travel, diet and restaurant reviews - London Unattached

Virgin Mary Soup – Sorted Food for the 5:2 Diet

March 3, 2014 by Fiona Maclean 32 Comments

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Sorted Food with Lea & Perrins – Virgin Mary Soup:

My Father enjoyed cooking.  Only a few dishes…curry, tomato soup, mince and tatties, fried breakfast and chips.  Occasionally, inspired by one of the TV chefs of the time (Graham Kerr otherwise known as the Galloping Gourmet was a particular favourite), he’d try to be creative and cook fish or steak – usually with some invented sauce and seldom with any great success. But, for the most part his dishes involved a number of key ingredients – Lea & Perrins was always on hand and I remember that distinctive earthy smell – my Father’s kitchen.

virgin mary soup 1

My Dad’s tomato soup always included Lea & Perrins.  I don’t remember tinned tomatoes featuring, but we had a large garden and my Mother used to freeze whole tomatoes, which were perfect for making soup in winter.  The version I’ve made here is simpler and I’ve aimed to make it as close as possible to a warm Virgin Mary – a spicy tomato soup with celery undertones.  And of course, with the addition of a dash of Lea & Perrins, for me it incorporates the taste I remember from my childhood.  This 5:2 diet recipe is also very low in calories, but quite thick and comforting thanks to the extra vegetables. It isn’t a heavy soup though, no starchy potatoes, rice or lentils, and I was quite suprised at how filling it was. Perfect if you are on a 5:2 diet fast day.

virgin mary soup
Print
5-2 Diet Recipe – Virgin Mary Soup
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Course: Soup
Servings: 4
Author: Fiona Maclean
Ingredients
  • 1 can Chopped Tomatoes If you have any fresh tomatoes, you can add them in too.
  • 600 ml Vegetable Stock I used Knorr touch of taste
  • 1 Medium Onion
  • 3 sticks Celery
  • 1 Medium Red Pepper
  • 3-4 dashes Lea & Perrins Adjust to taste
  • 3-4 dashes Tabasco Adjust to taste
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
Instructions
  1. Finely dice the onion, chop the celery, remove the stalk and seeds from the red pepper and chop.
  2. Soften the onion in the oil for 5 - 8 minutes till translucent. Then add the remaining fresh vegetables and cook gently for a further 5 minutes
  3. Add in the tinned tomatoes and the vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes till the celery is soft
  4. Blitz with a hand blender. If you like you can pass the mixture through a sieve for an extra smooth soup
  5. Taste and season well with salt, pepper, Tabasco and Lee & Perrins
  6. Heat through over a gentle flame for a few minutes to allow all the flavours to blend
  7. Serve garnished with celery leaves.

Of course, the calorie count is a bonus if like me you are doing the 5:2 diet.  I find that properly seasoned foods work particularly well on a 5:2 diet fast day – usually recipes that I am happy to eat during the rest of the week.  This soup simply doesn’t taste or look like ‘diet food’.  So, worth trying whether or not you are dieting.

Virgin Mary 5-2 Diet Soup

Lea & Perrins is one of those classic ingredients that makes some of the best comfort foods even better.  Take a look at this video for how to make the ultimate cheese on toast.  Of course cheese on toast really isn’t a 5:2 diet fast day meal – but, for the rest of the week it is delicious, quick and easy.

Now if you’d like some Lea & Perrins to try, I’ve been offered five bottles for London-Unattached readers.  I’m using rafflecopter again, but this time entering couldn’t be easier.  All you need to do is let me know in the comments below what dish you’d make using your Lea & Perrins.  There’s no right or wrong answer – I’m just curious!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This recipe was developed for Lea & Perrins.

 

Link up your recipe of the week

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Filed Under: 5:2 Diet Recipes, Lunch, Recipes, Soups, Vegetarian Tagged With: 5:2 diet, 5:2 diet recipe, tomato

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications

Comments

  1. Sally Voong says

    December 25, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    Sounds good. I love tomatoey soups.

    Reply
  2. Barbara Handley says

    August 19, 2014 at 6:56 pm

    I am gathering together recipes for the 5:2 diet so this will be really useful. Sounds delicious.

    Reply
  3. Mary @ Green Global Travel says

    July 16, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    Recipe looks delicious and very healthy with so many vegetables! The cheese on toast looks yummy too! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Sue says

    May 31, 2014 at 6:13 am

    Have taken a copy of recipe.
    Please confirm if it serves 4 dishes each of 73 calories and a serving size of 340g?
    I am not sure if the nujtrition facts below are for the Lea & Perrins or for the soup recipe.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      May 31, 2014 at 10:13 am

      for the soup;) you don’t use much lea and perrins!

      Reply
  5. Emma Worley says

    May 5, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    This looks fantastic!!

    Reply
  6. Debbie Creasey says

    April 6, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    Great with cheese on toast!

    Reply
  7. Emily @amummytoo says

    March 29, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    Great idea for a soup – I am struggling to keep my diet interesting at the moment so will be coming back to this one. Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve pinned and tweeted this post and hope to see you linking up again soon! 😀 x

    Reply
  8. Chantal says

    March 18, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    Sounds good and so healthy.
    I’ll give a try to this.

    Thank you
    Chantal

    Reply
  9. Alison says

    March 17, 2014 at 11:03 am

    oooh yes, this looks lovely

    Reply
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