It’s been a while since I gave you a full recipe so, with the weather remaining rather “British” this week I thought I would share this soup which is entirely my own creation and is easy, warming (not that this should be required in May), tasty and nutritious.

Bean and spinach soup.

Ingredients  

• Two vegetable stock cubes
• Half a teaspoon of paprika
• A handful of fresh thyme
• A handful of basil
• One bag of baby spinach
• One onion blitzed or chopped finely
• One tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
• One tin of cannellini beans
• One tin of mixed beans.
• 500ml of boiling water
• Salt and pepper to season
• A knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil

Method

• Melt a good spoonful of creamy butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, add the chopped onion once melted and two veg stock cubes.  Sweat down until onion is soft. 
• Add the paprika, smoked or unsmoked according to taste, tinned tomatoes and tins of beans (rinsed and drained first)
• Next add the fresh basil and thyme, along with the water and season with salt and pepper if you wish.
• Add the spinach and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. 
• When cooled slightly blitz to a smooth consistency.
• Serve with sourdough bread, I cut mine into 1cm slices and fry in olive oil which enables me to eat it successfully.  You may like to rub a clove of garlic over the bread before frying.  Either way is equally nice. 

Enjoy!  Here’s hoping for some weather soon that doesn’t require soup.