The weather today, grey and gloomy here,  requires a lovely home made soup and this one is delicious and very quick and easy to make. It is amazingly creamy too.

Ingredients

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 sliced leeks
• 2 peeled and chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 500ml vegetable stock or water
• 2 bay leaves
• parsley
• freshly ground coriander seeds
• 450g can of cannelini beans, drained
• fresh chives

1. Cook the onion, leeks, garlic, oil and a little water over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
2. Pour boiling stock over the vegetables and add the bay leaves and parsley. Season with the coriander seeds.
3. Bring soup to the boil and then simmer for fifteen minutes.
4. Add the beans, cooking on a very low heat for about four minutes.
5. Remove from the heat, cool slightly, remove the bay leaves and then blend.
6. Once in serving bowls sprinkle with the chives.  Serves four.

This recipe is taken from Dr Gillian McKeith’s Ultimate Health Plan. Gillian recommends that you serve this with a lemon and fennel coleslaw which is very tasty and crunchy.

Lemon and Fennel Coleslaw

Ingredients

• 350g red cabbage
• 1 fennel bulb finely sliced
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 4tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50g walnut halves, roughly chopped

1. Remove the outside leaves of the cabbage and cut out the central core.
2. Slice the cabbage very finely.
3. Add the fennel, celery, spring onions, lemon juice and oil to the cabbage and mix well.
4. Add the walnuts just before serving.

Enjoy!