Ingredients
You can't beat a warming, wholesome soup, filled with your
five-a-day vegetable quota and staple store cupboard and freezer
friendly ingredients. Enjoy with a side of crusty bread and
butter.
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
- 4 stalks of celery, washed, trimmed and finely sliced
- 1 courgette, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 400g (13oz) can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1l (32fl oz) vegetable stock
- 100g (3½oz) frozen peas
Method
- Heat the oil over a moderate heat in a large saucepan. Add the chopped bacon and fry for 1-2 minutes until the fat starts to run. Then add the onion, leek, carrots, celery and courgette. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the crushed garlic halfway through the cooking.
- Add the butter beans and stock, turn the heat up and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste if you wish, serve garnished with torn basil leaves.
Top tips
This can also be made with tinned bortolli beans or chickpeas. When using a tin of beans, make sure you drain the liquid from the tin and rinse the beans well.
