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.

Print

Porcini, Chickpea & Spinach Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 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