Carrot and Butterbean Soup

The recipe for this is in February's Sainsbury magazine. Carrots are often too bland and sweet for a successful soup - coriander is the classic spice to lift them and my mother adds orange juice and rind to hers. But even so I never think it is the best. Parsnips with a little spice, perhaps curry powder, give you body and flavour, mixed veg, that is equal quantities of swede, carrot and parsnip, are delicious but carrot in my book not so. But add a tin of butterbeans and the result is great; the beans give it body and savoury richness .

So:   1 onion, sweated gently in oil and then 1/2 tsp cumin, coriander and pinch of chill powder added; 2 pints hot stock; 1 tin butter beans, juice and all, plus a generous 1 1/2 lbs carrots, simmered 20 minutes plus; liquidise and enjoy - with a spoonful of yoghurt per bowl stirred in, or croutons or crispy fried onions with some spice added - or just chunks of good bread..