Spring green soup

This is a clean refreshing soup which is also quite filling. I've gone for a Middle Eastern flavour combination here with the coriander, aniseed, chickpeas and harissa. But you could easily swap those for parsley, green peas and tarragon, with a dollop of pesto on top for a more Mediterranean flavour. You can also mix and match the vegetables, depending in what's in season. Courgette and spinach would work well for late spring/early summer.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped or 1 leek, sliced
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 tsp aniseed
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 lemon, zest & juice
100g swiss chard or kale, stalks removed and finely sliced.
Salt and black pepper
One head of spring greens, finely sliced
1.5 litre vegetable stock
200g chickpeas
Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
Small bunch of wild garlic leaves, shredded
1 Tbsp rose harissa

Method

Grate the lemon peel with the large side of the grater so you're getting thing strips/chuncks of zest.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, then fry the onion, celery, lemon skin, sliced chard stalks (if using), a teaspoon of salt & pepper, aniseed and coridaner seeds for 8 minutes, stirring a few times, until soft.

Add the chard/kale and spring green leaves, and fry, stirring, for two minutes longer, until the leaves wilt. Pour in the stock and chickepeas, leave on the heat for two minutes or so, until boiling, then take off the heat, stir in the coriander, wild garlic and lemon juice.

Mix in 2 tsp of olive oil with the harissa and drizzle over each individual bowl of soup.