Butter Bean Soup – Recipe

Have you ever had that moment when it’s raining and cold, winter has finally arrived and all you want to do is sit by the fire? You don’t really have anything interesting to cook in the fridge and the idea of stepping outside to brave the supermarket is not desirable! You want that magical cooking fairy to arrive with something hot and delectable so that you don’t have to move from your toasty spot. Well, I hate to break it to you folks, but fairies aren’t real. Awkward!

I had that moment tonight. I did however know that I had a can of butter beans in the cupboard. I didn’t want to spend a moment away from the fire, so I whipped up a pot of butter bean soup. The result? Delicious! A winner in my household and it only took 15 minutes. I could have done it in ten.

This Butter Bean Soup recipe serves two, but just double it for more.

You’ll need:

1 420g can butter beans

2 decent sized garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon garlic

2 small/medium onions

A decent sized knob of butter

2 sprigs thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups hot chicken stock (I always use Maggi chicken stock (1x tsp per cup hot water) – even in preference to real stock. It’s my secret weapon in the kitchen and contrary to popular belief, includes no MSG.

Salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste

Let’s get cooking!

1. Roughly chop the onions and garlic. Put into pan/soup pot on the stove with a knob of butter over a medium heat. Stir until the onion is translucent. Don’t allow it to burn.

2. Add the thyme and butter beans to the pan. Stir for about a minute or two.

3. Add the hot chicken stock. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes. This allows the flavours to develop.

4. Blend the soup until smooth either with a stick blender in the pot, or in a food processor. Once smooth, return to pot and continue to simmer for 5 minutes (or long enough to make some toast!).