Porcini, Chickpea and Spinach Soup

This is another great soup from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his River Cottage Veg Every Day book. The porcini mushrooms add an earthiness that can be tasted throughout.

I had some leftover button mushrooms that I wanted to use up so I added them also and I found they added a nice texture to the soup.

You can substitute kale, chard or any other leafy green vegetable for the spinach. Butter beans or cannellini beans can be used instead of chickpeas.

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Porcini, Chickpea & Spinach Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 30 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 50 g button mushrooms
• 30 g butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 400 g tin plum tomatoes
• 400 g tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 200 g spinach shredded
• Sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Soak the porcini in about 750ml warm water for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, reserving the soaking water. Rinse the mushrooms briefly under the cold tap to remove any grit and pat dry with kitchen paper. Roughly chop them.
• Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and sweat the onion, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then add the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Add the the tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, rosemary, reserved mushroom soaking liquid and a few grinds of black pepper.
• Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Add the shredded spinach and cook for 2–3 minutes.
• If the soup seems too thick, thin it slightly with a little water. Discard the rosemary. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with some grated pasmesan and crusty bread