C is for Cress and Potato Soup

 

Like a lot of children, Freddie is suspicious of unfamiliar textures. There is neither rhyme nor reason to this but I have learnt through the Great Big Veg Challenge that if I make a soup smooth he will enjoy it. I still tell him exactly what the soup is made from. But nothing scary lurks in the bowl. Now if I get this right, he eats more vegetables.
We were discussing the daft names that some employers use in job adverts,asking for an
"education centre nourishment production assistant" when what they needed was a dinner lady or recruiting a "vision clearance executive" instead of a window cleaner. We reached the conclusion that I was no longer a mother but a Vegetable Enjoyment Facilitator.

 

Cress and Potato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large potatoes peeled and sliced
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 small courgette, finely chopped
2 punnets of salad cress finely chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1 litre of low-salt vegetable or chicken stock
3 tablespoons creme fraiche
Salt and pepper to season

Salt and pepper to taste

Gently fry the onion in the olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic. When softened, add the finely chopped courgette and potato. Stir over medium heat for another four minutes.
Add the vegetable stock. Bring just to the boil and then reduce heat and leave it to gently simmer for 25 minutes until the vegetables are all soft. Check that potatoes are soft and cooked. Turn off heat - using a hand blender, puree the soup mix. If you think it looks too thick - then add a glass of water. Add salad cress. Stir and add creme fraiche over gentle heat for another two minutes, stirring. Serve with croutons and a sprinkle of cress.