Chard soup is my favourite soup. I love the taste of chard, I find it much less bitter
than spinach. Chard is loaded with goodness, has a rich taste, and makes a delicious thick
soup full of flavour.
Chard grows bigger and stronger than spinach, and is much easier to grow. Unfortunately,
it is hard to find in supermarkets near where I live. I like to grow it to be available
from June through to November. It can be nurtured through winter in a polytunnel or growing
tunnel.
Chard comes in all colours, and can add interest to a garden or vegetable patch, but I have
not noticed a big difference in taste between varieties.
Hello! I’m Liam, and this is a short introduction to say this is a recipe from the home coffee
shop collection. You can see the full ingredients and all my other recipes on my website - see
the link below the video.
The recipes are ideal for anyone looking to find enjoyable ways to eat more nutritious
food, whether for yourself or your family.
I like to start the preparation by making the stock, crumbling a stock cube into boiling
water.
The soup is quick and easy to make, the only real effort is cleaning and chopping the vegetables.
Dice the onions. Any type of onion will do.
And chop the potatoes into 1cm chunks.
For the garlic, I find it easiest to smash the cloves to help separate them from their
skin, before chopping them finely.
Separate the stalks of the chard from their leaves, and chop off any ugly ends that connected
to the base of the plant.
The brightly coloured stems should be cut into two centimetre lengths.
Start the cooking by adding oil to a pan set over a medium heat. Add the onions, cover
with a lid, and allow them to fry for a few minutes. The lid helps keep moisture in the
pan to stop the onions sticking, but you will need to stir occasionally.
When the onions have softened, pour over the stock that you had previously prepared.
Add the potatoes, the garlic, and the chard stalks.
Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. This gives the chard stalks and
the potatoes a head start. The chard leaves need less cooking time.
Whilst the pan is simmering, take the washed chard leaves and rip them up coarsely. There
is no need to be precise as the soup will be blended.
Once the simmering time has elapsed, add some chopped tomatoes and a tin of cooked beans.
Red kidney beans, black beans, broad beans will all work well, but I had baked beans
in the cupboard so I used those.
Give everything a stir and then throw in the chard leaves. Stir again, cover with a lid,
and bring the mixture back to boiling point. The soup will need a further ten minutes gentle
simmering.
Like spinach, chard leaves collapse during cooking, helping to thicken the soup. At the
end of the cooking time, all the vegetables should be lovely and soft.
All that remains is to blend the soup. I think the soup looks yummy unblended, but after
blending, it turns a spectacular burned sunset colour.
The soup has a gorgeous thick texture, almost a meal in itself, but I do like to serve it
with fresh buttered bread for dunking.
Enjoy straight away, or store it in the fridge for a few days. You could make large batches
and store meal sized servings in the freezer.
All options are delicious! Enjoy.
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