 I could eat this Italian-inspired soup again and again. Nourishing, delicious, full of lovely seasonal veg, and comforting in cold weather. The chicken can be left out and more cannellini beans added to make a hearty vegetarian soup. Serves 2, prep time 60 mins (including making sourdough croutons if desired) Olive oil 5-6 large potatoes (organic if possible – potatoes can be heavily sprayed with pesticides) Sea salt and ground black pepper ½ large white onion 1 large leek Good handful cavalo nero Few cloves of garlic, roughly chopped Fresh thyme sprigs 1 tin cannellini beans (use 2 tins if making vegetarian version) A few good handfuls of shredded or sliced roasted free range chicken Optional extra: Pre-made sourdough croutons – simply cube the end of a stale loaf of sourdough and bake in the oven for 20 mins with olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. -Bring a pot of salty water to the boil while roughly chopping the potatoes into small chunks. Cook the potato pieces until soft. Keep the water.
-Finely slice the white onion, leek and cavalo nero and sautee in olive oil, adding salt and pepper to season and a few sprigs of thyme. When the onion and leek are soft and slightly golden, add the garlic. -Add the cooked potato, leeks, onion, cavalo nero and garlic to a blender, along with either some of the potato water OR a cup of chicken bone broth, and half a tin of cannellini beans. Blend until smooth. You can adjust the consistency by adding a little more water or broth if a thinner soup is desired, or by reducing to make it thicker. -Transfer to a large pot and add the remaining cannellini beans. Leave to simmer for about 30 mins. Add a few more sprigs of fresh thyme and the shredded chicken toward the end, warm and season to taste. -Serve in bowls and scatter the sourdough croutons for some crunch, or use a few sprigs of thyme for a gluten-free garnish. Freezes well and will keep in the fridge for two days. |