Hearty Vegetable Soup

Name: Hearty Vegetable Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped finely; 2 cloves of garlic, crushed; 1 large leek, sliced finely; 2 sticks of celery, chopped; 2 carrots, chopped; 250g of potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes (use a waxy variety); 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock; 2 bay leaves; a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon of dried); optional: a pinch of chilli flakes; salt and pepper to season; fresh chopped parsley; cooking oil spray (I used avocado spray oil)