Try this healthy soup packed with spring veg and flavoured with a fresh herby salsa. Go with the langoustines and sourdough to take it to another level, or leave them out and keep it simple.
Ingredients
- For the soup
- 500ml/18fl oz fresh
chicken stock - 50g/1¾oz unsalted
butter - 4
spring onions, finely chopped - 100g/3½oz broccoli or
purple sprouting broccoli, florets - 100g/3½oz
peas, podded - 100g/3½oz
asparagus, chopped - 100g/3½oz
radishes, cut in half - 200g/7oz Jersey Royals, washed and cut in half
- 2 tbsp unsalted
butter - 8 cooked
langoustines, peeled
- 500ml/18fl oz fresh
- For the salsa verde
- 1
shallot, roughly chopped - 1
garlic clove, roughly chopped - 2 tbsp chopped fresh
chervil - 2 tbsp chopped fresh
parsley - 2 tbsp chopped fresh
tarragon - 2 tbsp chopped fresh
mint - 2 tbsp chopped fresh
basil - 1
lemon, zest only - 5 tbsp extra virgin
olive oil
- 1
- To serve
- 2 tbsp
rapeseed oil - 4 slices
sourdough bread
- 2 tbsp
Preparation method
For the soup, heat the chicken stock in a saucepan.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a sauté pan and, once hot, add the spring onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for a further minute. Add the hot stock and cook for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
Heat a frying pan and add the two tablespoons of butter. Once hot, add the langoustine and cook for a couple of minutes each side.
Just before serving, drop the langoustines in the soup.
To make the salsa verde, place the shallot, garlic, herbs and lemon zest in blender and blend with the oil.
Heat a griddle pan to hot. Drizzle the bread with oil and place the sliced sourdough bread onto a hot griddle pan and cook either side until bar marks appear.
To serve, ladle the springtime soup into a shallow serving bowl and stir in the salsa verde before serving with the bread.