Rich runner bean soup

So many runner beans! And as per all the crops we've had an abundance of we decided to make a soup. So far this year we've had tomato soup, courgette soup, beetroot soup and now runner bean soup. It's getting colder and the nights are getting longer so definitely a good time to curl up on the couch with a warm creamy soup.

We've been caught out with our runner beans though (so much to learn in this gardening business!) We left them slightly too long so they've become quite stringy. Apparently it's best to harvest them quite young otherwise the skin becomes coarse. They've grown splendidly in the little soil patch we have around the greenhouse. On one side of the greenhouse we rested a trellis fence and the beans happily climbed it showing off some very pretty red flowers as they did so. On the other side of the greenhouse we built a bean wigwam and they loved that too but soon outgrew it so we pinched off the growing tips at that point. They're very thirsty plants so as long as you give them enough water they flourish and grow without too much trouble. Now I understand why they say it's a good beginner plant to grow.

So about this recipe. We harvested over 500g of runner beans and considering it was such a cold and rainy day yesterday we thought it would be a good idea to make a soup. The one we made was inspired by a recipe on the fantastic site Cook Sister. We added a few extra ingredients and topped it off with a very indulgent helping of roquefort. Delicious! However, remember to harvest your runner beans when they're young otherwise you'll get lots of stringy bits stuck between your teeth. Eww!

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter or margarine

500g runner beans

2 garlic cloves

1 large onion

1 courgette

700ml vegetable stock

100ml single cream

Roquefort cheese

Chilli flakes (they always manage to sneak their way into my recipes...)

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Top and tail the runner beans and remove the stringy bits on either side with a potato slicer

2. Chop the onion, garlic cloves and courgette

3. Heat the butter or margarine in a large saucepan and add the chilli flakes - one teaspoon should be enough

4.  Fry the onion and garlic and then add the chopped courgette and the runner beans

5.  When the beans are starting to look a little softer, add the vegetable stock

6. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes

7. Puree in a blender and then add to the soup bowls with generous crumblings of gooey smelly roquefort cheese, a sprinkling of salt and a healthy helping of pepper