A Soup for Spring

This soup feels like a good one to welcome in Spring. The period of time where transition is in the air, the changing of wardrobes is matched with the changes on our plates. We ditch the heavy in favour of something slightly lighter. It uses some of the lovely greens of March - kale, spinach and leek. I used a chicken stock here but a vegetable one would also be equally as delicious. This is a soup that would work perfectly blended or left untouched and chunky.

Spring Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 leeks, cut into 1cm rounds
2 fat cloves of garlic
1L stock
400g tin of white beans (I opted for cannellini but any would work)
200g kale
75g spinach
25g parsley, chopped - plus extra for garnishing 
1 lemon

Neutral oil
Small knob of butter

Method:

  1. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil along with a small knob of butter. Add the leeks to the pan, cover and leave to sweat on a low heat for 10 minutes.

  2. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.

  3. Next, add the beans and the stock and bring to the boil.

  4. Meanwhile, strip the kale of its woody stalks and roughly chop (if you plan to eat this soup without blitzing it, chop the kale a little more fine)

  5. Once it’s reached the boil, add the kale, season well and turn down the heat. Simmer the soup for 5 minutes to let the kale soften. Then add the spinach and parsley. Squeeze the juice of one lemon then blitz.

  6. Serve the soup with a scattering of parsley, a drizzle of oil and some homemade croutons (the perfect use for slightly stale bread. Tear into small pieces and lightly fry)