Recipes: Vegetable soup with mint pesto

Everyone should have a restaurant-style soup in their recipe collection. Try Gordon Ramsay's veg-packed version for a real winner

Ingredients

• 2 red onions
• 2 leeks
• 1 kohlrabi (a Sputnik-shaped vegetable, similar to turnip)
• 2 parsnips
• 2 carrots
• 1 fennel
• 3 potatoes
• olive oil
• 150g bacon or pancetta , chopped
• ½ bottle white wine
• 1l chicken stock
• 50g spaghettini (a thin spaghetti) or regular spaghetti
• a small lump parmesan , grated

MINT AND PINE NUT PESTO

• 2 garlic cloves , peeled
• 100g pine nuts
• a small bunch mint leaves
• olive oil

BOUQUET GARNI

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• a large sprig basil

  

  1. Chop the onions and leeks. Peel the kohlrabi like a grapefruit; cut a slice off the bottom to keep it steady and then cut the skin off by slicing down from top to bottom with a flexible knife, following the curve. Now slice into thick slices using a heavy knife, then into 'chips' and finally line the chips up and chop them into dice. Peel the parsnips and carrots. With the parsnips it's important to cut out any woody cores so quarter them and then, using a paring knife, trim out the core. Cut off the top bit and cut the fat bottom part into 3, chop each bit into dice. Cut the carrots in half and then each half into quarters. If you have a bent carrot that wobbles as you chop, turn it on its side to make it stable. Cut into dice.
  2. Trim off the feathery bit of the fennel and then cut off the woody tips. Peel off the outer layers, if you tap the fennel on the board between layers you'll find that each tap loosens the next layer. Slice off the outer edges then turn each piece curved-side up and press down to flatten it. Slice into batons and then dice. The potato, I'm assuming you know how to peel. Dice it like the kohlrabi. Leave this until last so you can cook it straight away and it doesn't oxidise and go black.
  3. Put a slug of olive oil in a saucepan, add the bacon and onions and fry together to get the fat off the bacon. Don't burn the onions, just cook them down gently to a golden brown. Next add the carrot and kohlrabi, seasoning and stirring after each vegetable is added. Now add the parsnips, fennel and potato. It might look like you have masses of veg at this stage but they will cook down. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and reduce it down for a minute or two. Add the bouquet garni (see box, below) and stock and season. Now for the spaghetti. There's a special trick to break it evenly: roll it in a cloth and twist the ends like a sweet, then lie it on the edge of a table and, pulling down firmly, run the whole lot over the edge in one movement. This will break it into tiny pieces. Add to the soup and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the veg and spaghetti are cooked though, stirring every now and then.
  4. To make the pesto, you can use a pestle and mortar, which will make it nice and rustic (which I prefer) but if you don't have one, whizz it in a food processor. Pound the garlic and pine nuts, then add the mint and a little olive oil to help it along, and pound again. Season and add as much olive oil as you like to make a chunky pesto. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with a spoonful of pesto and a sprinkle of parmesan.

  Making a bouquet garni
  Lay out a couple of pieces of leek so they overlap. pile everything else in the centre, sprinkle with sea salt and then fold the leek over it. You can tie it with string or just use an elastic band like I do.
  

  NUTRITION PER SERVING: 476 kcalories, protein 14.2g, carbohydrate 32.3g, fat 31 g, saturated fat 5.9g, fibre 6.6g, salt 1.93 g 

  source: bbcgoodfood.com