Preparation time
15 minutes
Cooking time
20 minutes
Serves
6-8
Danielle Alvarez, head chef of Fred's Paddington, shares her Green Soup recipe.
An excellent example of an underrated variety, the Moss Brothers Moses Rock Chenin Blanc is a delight with this soup. Tight and minerally, yet full of fruit, its complexity matches that of this dish.
Ingredients
150g diced shallot
150g finely diced carrot
2 tablespoons minced green garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra, for drizzling
200g finely diced green zucchini (courgette)
300g freshly cooked borlotti beans, in their liquid
200g fresh peas
150g double-podded broad beans
150 g butter beans, thinly sliced
150g sliced asparagus
500g fresh spinach leaves, washed
Pistou
30g toasted pistachio nuts
1 teaspoon minced green garlic or 1 garlic clove
60g basil, leaves picked (approx. 2–3 bunches)
85ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
25g grated parmesan
3 cracks of black pepper
Method
1. Make your pistou in a mortar and pestle. Start by pounding your pistachios to a fine crumb, then set aside. Add the garlic and pound to a paste with a pinch of salt. Add the basil, one handful at a time, reducing that to a paste before adding more. Add another pinch of salt for more abrasion. Next, add the crushed pistachios and mix them into the basil. Things should start looking a little creamier now. Start drizzling in the olive oil, little by little, mixing with the pestle as you go. When all the oil is in, mix in the cheese and black pepper, then set aside. You should have a fairly thick paste, but if it looks dry, add a little more olive oil.
2. To make the soup, heat a stockpot over a medium–low heat and sweat the shallot, carrot and green garlic in the olive oil until soft and translucent but not coloured. Add 1.3 litres water and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, but avoid making it too salty.
3. Add the zucchini and borlotti beans and simmer for 3–4 minutes until the zucchini is beginning to soften. Next, add the peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the broad beans, butter beans, asparagus and spinach and simmer for another 2 minutes. At this point, the soup is finished. Ladle into bowls and top with a good spoonful of pistou and an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Wine Match
Chenin Blanc