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Warm and Wonderful Winter Vegetable Soup

I made this soup when I had received a head of Cavolo Nero (black kale) and had no idea what to do with it.  I found a soup recipe, but, as is common with many such recipes, it included carrots and celery, which you will not induce me to eat under any circumstances.  So I devised my own recipe, adding all my leftover winter vegetables and spicing it up a bit, which was very much enjoyed, and made a delicious, hearty lunch.  It takes a bit of time, so get started fairly early, and do other things during the cooking times.

This recipe is gluten free, and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Bowl of home made vegetable soup

A hearty, healthy soup for a winter’s day

2tbls Olive Oil
2 Red Onions
½ Butternut Squash
2 Cloves Garlic
½ Chilli
400g tin Tomatoes
1 Red Pepper
1 Courgette
1tsp Turmeric
1tsp ground Ginger
1 bunch Swiss Chard or Rainbow Chard
1 bunch Cavolo Nero
410g tin Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
700ml boiling Chicken or Vegetable Stock

  1. Finely slice the onions.  Peel and cut the butternut squash into 1cm chunks.  Heat 1tbls of the olive oil in a large saucepan and slowly fry the onion and squash until the onions are soft and dark. This will take about 20 minutes but it’s worth it. During this time, remove any tough stalks from the cavolo nero, shred the chard and cavolo nero keeping the chard stems separate, and chop the pepper and courgette into chunks.
  2. Finely chop the garlic and chilli. Add them to the pan with the chard stalks, turmeric and ginger, and stir to prevent sticking. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until reduced.
  3. Add half the chard leaves, half the cavolo nero, three-quarters of the beans, the pepper and courgette, and the boiling stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Add more stock if needed, but not too much – it should be thick.
  4. Add the remaining chard and cavolo nero and blanch briefly so they remain green and crisp.
  5. Purée the remaining cannellini beans in a blender with some of the cooking liquid and the remaining tablespoon of oil and stir into the hot soup
  6. Serve on its own, or with butternut squash bread.