#HealthyNotHungry Recipe: Greens and Beans Soup

Green needn’t equal ‘mean’ – after all, our January feels are all about being healthy, not hungry.
Feeling less-than-satisfied after lunch just isn’t an option in our book, which is why we’re sharing our Greens and Beans Soup recipe, for you to make at home. With a blend of nutritional powerhouse Swiss Chard, and protein-packed cannellini beans, this soup will keep you fuller for longer, taste delicious, and pump you with nutrients to battle off that January cold.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can substitute the chard and cannellini beans for whichever greens and beans you fancy; broccoli, kale, spinach or collard greens would all work really well, along with lentils, split peas, chickpeas or garden peas.

Greens and Beans Soup is available in each of our cafes from Friday 5th January.

Ingredients
3 x Bay Leaves
1 x tins cannellini beans
320g carrots
2 x celery stalks
2 glugs olive oil
8 garlic cloves (yep, 8 – so long vampires!)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp thyme and marjoram
1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley
250g chard
2.2L water
1 large white onions
salt and pepper

Method
1. Heat a large pan on a medium heat.
2. Sweat down the chopped onion with the oil
3. Add the garlic, celery and carrots, then cook for a further 2 minutes
4. Add the water, drained beans, thyme, marjoram and bay leaves
5. Simmer for 40 minutes until the veg and beans are tender
6. Remove half the soup, put into another container and blend it until smooth
7. Add back in together with the chunky soup, and season with salt and pepper to taste
*NB. steps 6 and 7 are optional, you can either leave the whole soup chunky or fully blend for a smooth soup – it’s up to you
8. Slice the chard into thin strips and add to the soup, cook for a further 2 minutes
9. Take it off the heat, add chopped parsley and lemon juice
10. Taste it! Salt first, then pepper.