Ward off the worst of winter with this warming, healthy and very tasty soup! Vegan or carnivorous alternative – both delicious!

Butter beans are never going to be the first name on your dance card (yes, I have been watching too much Bridgerton). But don’t let the humble butter bean pass you by. They’re low in fat and calories. They contain powerful antioxidants called polyphenols (no, not a clue, this recipe is led by the science). They are full of protein, iron, Folate, vitamins A and C and a tiny dose of magnesium. But they don’t have the downfall of many vegetables of tasting like old socks.

Butter Bean, Thyme, Ginger and Turmeric soup

Recipe by The Recs SCDCourse: Food

Servings

servings

A super healthy soup to warm you in winter that tastes creamy and decadent (non-vegan alternative ingredients in brackets)

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
10 ml vegetable oil (or a good knob of butter)
375 ml of vegetable stock (or 375 ml of chicken stock)
400g can of butter beans (well rinsed)
Fresh Thyme, a decent handful of leaves
Ginger, a small piece grated
1/2 tsp turmeric (or more depending on your preference)
(Optional) Vivera Fake Bacon Pieces (or Pancetta)
(Optional) Chives

Directions

Finely chop 1 onion – the smaller the better. If you weep like a baby chopping onions like me, use swimming goggles. It has revolutionised my relationship with onions.
Drain your can of butter beans and rinse them well in a sieve under a tap
Grate the ginger – if you like ginger go for a decent sized piece, if not maybe a 2cm piece (no smaller than the pic). Cut the bark off. Then grate it on the fine setting of a grater. The grated ginger should be quite wet and smell divine.
Pick leaves off a few sprigs of fresh thyme. How many? As many as you can be bothered with. It is an utterly tedious job plucking tiny thyme leaves off fresh sprigs but it is worth it! If life is too short, you can always supplement your fresh thyme with some dry thyme. (If you can help it, don’t use only dry thyme as it just doesn’t have the flavour)
Add oil (or butter) to a pot on a low heat.
Add the onions to fry slowly. You really want the onions to release their flavour so maybe 7 or 8 mins on a low heat is perfect. You want the onions to be soft and ‘translucent’ – don’t let them brown though!
Add the ginger to your pot. Stir among the onions. Fry on the same low heat for about a minute to release the flavour.
Add in the turmeric and let it fry for a minute.
Add the butter beans, the thyme leaves and then the stock. Then let the mixture simmer for about 12 minutes. I like to stir it occasionally – the perfect excuse to taste it. Any time after the halfway point, add pepper or salt to help enhance the flavour.
Place the soup into a blender and briefly blitz – If you like super smooth soup blitz it for longer. Personally I like a bit of thickness to my winter soups, so I only blitz for seven seconds.
(Optional) Fry your fake bacon pieces (or pancetta) and add to the soup – Because the soup is quite creamy, almost buttery, it’s good to have something like the fake bacon pieces (or pancetta) to add a saltiness to cut through – and they will give some added texture.
Add chopped chives on top of your soup – well it won’t look restauranty otherwise would it?