Four season white bean + greens soup

Cawl ?a gwyn a llysiau gwyrdd y pedwar tymor This is one of our very favourite soup recipes, which is high praise indeed coming from Alison, whose last meal on earth would probably be a bowl of soup. The simple savoury base can be added to according to the seasons, so we make it all year round. Although the ingredients are classic and straightforward, there is a real depth of fl avour from the gremolata, which gives a fresh, garlicky hit on top the creamy beans. It is well worth seeking out beans in a jar rather than the tinned variety if you can. Eat this for supper with sourdough and Very Good Homemade Butter (here), or toast rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil.

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Step 1

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat until melted and sizzling. Add the shallots, carrot and celery, a good grind of black pepper and the salt and fry, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until everything is completely soft, glossy and fragrant.

Step 2

Stir in the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for another minute until the anise aroma fills the kitchen. Add the peas and stir to combine, then add the beans and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and taste the soup. The saltiness will depend partly on the generosity of seasoning in the bean jar – add a little more salt, if you prefer. Add the seasonal greens (and tomatoes if making the summer version of the soup) and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the greens are bright green and tender.

Step 3

Meanwhile, to make the gremolata, finely chop the parsley, lifting any larger leaves up and over the top of the pile as you go, until the leaves on the chopping board are a darker shade of green and very finely chopped.

Step 4

Save the stalks for stock, or to blitz into a pasta sauce. Use a fine grater or Microplane to grate the garlic and lemon zest over the parsley. Chop the garlic and lemon into the parsley to combine, then transfer everything on the board to a bowl.

Step 5

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and place 1 teaspoon of the gremolata on top. Scatter over the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over