1 hr 30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 8
About the recipe
This is a great way of using up the vegetables you might have from a growing frenzy. You can easily swap ingredients to suit the season – replace the spinach with chopped savoy cabbage, kale, chard or spring greens, or use green beans and string beans instead of peas and broad beans – the sky’s the limit!
Ingredients
1 medium onion
2 sticks of celery
1 medium leek
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
3 medium potatoes
2 courgettes
1 vegetable stock cube or 1.4 litres hot fresh vegetable stock
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g podded fresh peas or broad beans
200g baby spinach
a few sprigs of fresh mint
Top Tip
To make tasty, homemade croutons, place chunky pieces of bread or ciabatta onto a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake in the oven at full whack for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Method
- Peel and roughly chop the onion on a chopping board, then place in a large bowl.
- Trim and roughly chop the celery and leek (make sure you wash it really well), then peel and finely chop the garlic and add it all to the onion.
- Place a large pot on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once hot, add all the chopped vegetables, turn the heat down to low and cook with the lid askew for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
- Peel the potatoes using a Y-shaped peeler, then chop into rough 2cm chunks and place in the empty bowl. Chop the courgettes into rough 2cm chunks and place in the bowl with the potatoes.
- Fill and boil the kettle.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, add the potatoes, courgettes and a tiny pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Crumble the stock cube (if using) into a measuring jug and carefully top up to 1.4 litres with boiling water and stir until dissolved. Carefully pour the hot stock into the pot.
- Turn the heat up to high and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potato is cooked through.
- Add the peas or beans and the spinach and cook for a further 4 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
- Carefully remove the pot to a heatproof surface and leave for a minute or two to stop bubbling.
- Carefully blitz with a stick blender until smooth (use a tea towel to protect your hands from little splashes). Have a taste and add a tiny pinch of salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
- Pick and roughly chop the mint leaves, discarding the stalks.
- Carefully ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle over the mint. Delicious served with homemade croutons (see tip below).
Tags
