INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 4-5 banana shallots or 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 large or 2 small-medium carrots, scrubbed or peeled and chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- a small bunch of chard, stems and leaves separated, stems chopped, leaves shredded
- 2-3 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped fairly small
- a wedge of squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped fairly small, about 200g once prepped
- 1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes, chopped, or about 400g fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- A fistful of runner beans, de-stringed and roughly chopped, or French/green beans, de-stalked and
- chopped
- about 750ml veg stock
- a handful of cavolo nero and/or Russian kale leaves, removed from the stalks and shredded
- a couple of handfuls of peas, fresh or frozen
- 1 tin borlotti or cannellini beans, drained
- leaves from a couple of sprigs of thyme
- extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
METHOD
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the shallots or onions and a pinch of salt, and get them sizzling.
- Turn down the heat and let them sweat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the celery, carrot, leek and garlic and sweat for about 10 minutes until the carrots are starting to become tender.
- Add the chopped chard stalks, the beetroot, and squash and cook for about 10 minutes,
- Add the chopped runner or green beans, stir and cook for another few minutes.
- Add enough stock to just cover the veg.
- Increase the heat to bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the kale, chard leaves, peas and tomatoes, and cook for a couple of minutes, until the leaves have wilted down.
- Stir in the tinned beans and the thyme leaves and simmer for a couple of minutes more.
- Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve straight away, ladled into bowls, with a trickle of extra virgin oil over each, or a good dollop of the Pestomega.
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