There’s still a chill in the air, but I can feel the warmth and freshness of spring just around the corner. It’s still good soup weather, but I wanted something light and a bit different. I happened to stumble across this warming, hearty potato and celery soup with savoy cabbage and bacon in an old recipe book. It was handwritten, so I must have got it from someone, but for the life of me I can’t imagine who.
Taking only 20 minutes to make, and having all the ingredients in the fridge and pantry, I thought, ‘Why not?’
I was a bit apprehensive about what sort of flavour this recipe would have, so I made a few adjustments. I preferred to give the bacon a bit of a sizzle before adding to the pot. I also deglazed the pan with a bit of white wine or stock (probably about 1-2 tablespoons) and then added less oil and tossed in the vegetables. It was certainly a fresh tasting soup.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 550g potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1L chicken or vegetable stock
- 8 rashers streaky bacon
- a quarter medium Savoy cabbage (about 200g)
Method
- Using a food processor, chop the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan. Add vegetables and potatoes, season well, then reduce the heat and cover the pan. Gently cook for about 5 minutes until starting to soften, then add stock, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes more, or until all the vegetables are tender.
- While the soup is cooking, grill or fry bacon until crisp, then cut into strips. Shred cabbage, discarding the core.
- Whiz the soup in the food processor until smooth, then return to the pan and add cabbage. Simmer for a few mins until cabbage is just tender, then season to taste and serve scattered with the bacon.