Green Soup (using summer vegs)

[Primrose]

Ingredients:
I tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 medium potato (7 - 8 ozs), peeled and cut into dice
1 small, or half large unskinned cucumber, chopped into dice
1 medium courgette, chopped into dice
6 - 8 green beans of any variety, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 & a half pints of chicken or vegetable stock (or 1 stock cube)
Half bunch watercress (about 3 ozs), roughly chopped.
Seasoning

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic; fry 3 - 4
minutes until soft. Add the diced potato and fry for 3 to
4 minutes, before adding the stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 5
minutes, then add the other vegetables., except the watercress.
Simmer for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the potato, beans and
courgettes are cooked - the cucumber will still feel firm. About 2 - 3
minutes before the end add the chopped watercress & stalks and allow to wilt. Season and blend in a food processor or with a
stick blender, and serve hot. A few cooked beans can be stirred in ater whizzing if you want a more chunky texture.

Serves: 4
Preparation time:15 mins, Cooking time: 30 minutes

[Monika]

Thank you for your "green soup" recipe, Primrose. I have become an expert in "green soup" and "red soup" over the years. It all depends what the allotment and garden have thrown up on the day and the soup is either green (courgettes, broccoli, any type of bean, peas, cauliflower with winter savory, thyme or tarragon) or red (tomato, red pepper, carrots with basil), all prepared in a similar way to yours.

Can I add one ingredient, though, and that is a desertspoonful of half fat creme fraiche stirred in at the end - makes all the difference.

And for a cold winter day: "Central European winter soup" (that's what we call it, anyway), similar to above but with extra root vegetables like swede, parsnip, celeriac and kohlrabi.

[Nature's Babe]

If you can't get watercress then land cress works as well to give that peppery kick.

[Primrose]

We currently have lots of nastursion leaves in the garden which have quite a peppery taste but have run out of rocket, so I might also try that as a substitution next time.
You're right Monika, I'm sure a couple of dollops of creme fraiche would improve it too.