Souper green recipe

If the sniffles from commuters and colleagues are anything to go by, it’s time to boost our immune systems as much as possible before the cold really hits!

Television chef and author Jo Pratt suggests a soup recipe that is packed with green vegetables, vitamins and minerals but doesn’t scrimp on taste, with flavourings of pumpkin seed and courgette. Packed with goodness, this soup alone is great, but the croutons are a real tasty treat to scatter over the top. Salty, crunchy and very moreish.

Souper green soup with pumpkin seed croutons

Serves six
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 medium-large courgette, sliced
1l/35fl oz/4 cups vegetable stock
300g/101⁄2oz spring/collard greens, roughly chopped
100g/31⁄2oz/2⁄3 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1 large handful of mint leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the croutons:
100g/31⁄2oz feta cheese
50g/13⁄4oz/2⁄3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1⁄4 tsp dried chilli/hot pepper flakes
1 tsp sumac​

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Break the feta into small chunks and gently mix together with the pumpkin seeds, olive oil, dried chilli/hot pepper flakes and sumac. Spread in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes, shaking the baking sheet once during cooking, to ensure even cooking. When cooked, the feta should be starting to turn golden in places and the pumpkin seeds will be crunchy and puffed up. Remove from the oven and leave to one side.

Meanwhile, make the soup. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the fennel and garlic and gently sauté for about five minutes until the fennel is softened but not coloured. Stir in the leek and courgette/zucchini and continue to sauté for five more minutes, then add the stock.

Increase the heat to medium and bring to a simmer, then add the spring/collard greens and cook for three minutes. Stir in the peas, and as soon as the soup returns to a simmer, cook for two minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the mint. Using a hand-held stick/immersion blender or electric blender, blitz the soup until it is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the pumpkin seed and feta croutons scattered on top.

More healthy eating (and indulgent) tips are available from celebrity chefs at the BBC Good Food Show London.

Food & Drink News