Harvest festival soup

I love this time of year, particularly as we have such unexpectedly glorious weather in which to celebrate this Autumnal season. Being an allotment holder, I have been interested to learn about what vegetables have been coming in to season by looking at all the well established plots and admiring the wealth of produce on offer. Would you believe, there is even a mini vineyard on our allotment site that produces a fair amount of very decent white wine!

I have to admit that my veggie plot is still being cleared due to being neglected for fifteen years, maybe even longer. So, it has been really useful to just observe and make a note of what seems to be doing well in our chalky Surrey soil.

Seeing a bountiful collection of goodies, including pumpkins, butternut squash, leeks, onions, apples and walnuts is great news. As a big fan of pretty much all fruits and vegetables, this time next year I dream of having a collection of what Autumn has to offer in my very own plot. But, what it has done for now, is to give me inspiration to create my very own Harvest Festival soup.

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Harvest festival soup

A comforting Autumnal harvest festival soup filled with warming flavours.

Course Lunch, Soup

Cuisine British

Keyword harvest festival soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Laura Scott

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 leek finely chopped
• 2 carrots peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 butternut squash peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 5 rashers smoky bacon chopped finely
• 100 g French beans
• 1 courgette finely chopped
• 1/4 green cabbage finely sliced
• 400 g tinned cannelini beans drained
• 600 ml vegetable/chicken stock

Instructions

1. Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan

2. Add in the onion, leek, garlic and bacon and fry for a few minutes without browning

3. Add the rest of the vegetables with some salt and pepper and fry for a few minutes longer on a medium heat

4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the soup to the boil

5. Add in the cannellini beans

6. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through and soft