Leek, Potato and Cannellini Bean Soup

They say necessity is the mother of invention but often I find availability is the mother of invention and sometimes it's both! As with this soup - the necessity being that I needed to feed my family lunch but I only had a few ingredients available in the house and I didn't have the time or desire to go out shopping.

Having a house full of gannets that all do a lot of sport, I try to make food that is filling, healthy and releases energy slowly as well as being relatively inexpensive. That's why I love adding beans and pulses to most of my dishes. They are packed full of goodness, protein, fibre and vitamins...and they don't cost the earth. I'd probably save quite a bit more money if I bought the dried beans instead of the ready soaked and cooked tinned/pouches but I really don't have time to soak overnight and boil for however long...and anyway, I never manage to cook them successfully from dried, they are either overcooked to a mush or still a bit hard and horrible - so convenience and a properly cooked bean/pulse wins over penny pinching.

Back to the soup - as you can guess I had a leek, a handful Norfolk potatoes left in the bottom of the sack my mum brought over for Christmas and that immediately made me fancy some leek and potato soup. But I needed it to have more substance so the tin of cannellini beans seemed the perfect third main ingredient. If you've never had them before, cannellini beans are white, almost like a thinner version of a kidney bean and they have a creamy texture with a skin that's not too thick. They have always been popular with my kids because they don't have a very strong taste and they are also ideal to use in baby food as they mash up easily. Cannellini beans are used widely in Italian cooking.

It turned out that the beans really did raise the level of my usual leek & potato soup, so here's the recipe in case you fancy trying it out for yourself - Ill certainly be making it again.

Leek, Potato & Cannellini Bean Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable or light olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 leek, sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
1 litre of good quality vegetable or chicken stock
100ml of white wine
400g can cannellini beans
grating of nutmeg
freshly ground pepper
crème fraîche to serve (optional)
fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions and celery for about 5 minutes without browning.
Add the leeks and potatoes and fry for a couple more minutes until the leeks start to soften.
Pour in the wine, stir and bring to the boil to evaporate the alcohol.
Add the vegetable stock and bring back to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add the beans. 
Season with pepper and nutmeg. 
Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.
Before serving, stir in a dollop of crème fraîche and sprinkle with chopped parsley .
Enjoy!