HEARTY GREEN SOUP

SERVES 8 / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 40 MINUTES

This soup uses up any green vegetables you fancy, so is great for using stems and stalks, cooking them and any tougher parts first then adding leaves at the end. I discard the kale stems because I find them stringy, but feel free to add them with the other stems if you like. I have made umami-packed Marmite croutons which I like to soak into the soup adding flavour and texture at the end. For a non-vegetarian option, you could fry crumbled chorizo to scatter over the top also. This soup freezes well.

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500g silverbeet or Swiss chard

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

¼ cup flat-leafed parsley, chopped

2 bay leaves finely grated zest of ½ lemon and juice of 1 lemon 3 medium-sized waxy (boiling) potatoes, cut into 1½cm cubes ½ cup French green lentils

2 litres good-quality stock (vegetable or chicken) 250g curly kale or cavolo nero, washed

400g broccoli

2 x 400g can beans such as cannellini or borlotti, drained extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and a good sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.

Separate the silverbeet or chard leaves and stems, chop the stems finely and add to the pot with the celery, parsley, bay leaves and lemon zest and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, lentils and stock and bring the soup to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves and discard.

Remove the stems from the kale and discard. Finely chop the broccoli stems and separate the head into small florets. Cut the kale or cavolo nero and silverbeet leaves into strips 1cm wide and add to the soup along with the broccoli and beans and continue to cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Top with crunchy Marmite croutons and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and serve with crusty bread.

MARMITE CROUTONS

1 teaspoon Marmite 2 tablespoons plain oil 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast 3 cups cubed bread

Heat the oven to 160℃ fan bake.

Dissolve the Marmite in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water in a large bowl. Add the oil, yeast and bread and toss well to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking tray and cook for about 12-15 minutes stirring twice, until crisp.

CREDITS Paul Maseyk bowls (page 63); black La Chamba bowls (page 65) from French Country Collections; Nerikomi grey stripe plate (page 65) from Mystery Creek Ceramics; Galit Maxwell soup bowls (page 70).

All other props are stylist’s own. For full details see Credits Index, page 159.