Vegetable and Garlic Soup

Around June 23rd, in France, many country fairs still celebrate Saint Jean – the midsummer festival and the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. The town of Uzes holds a garlic festival in common with many other towns and villages and you can smell the aroma of garlic in the air. This is a recipe from that region.
Serves 6
1 tbsp olive oil
225g chopped streaky bacon with rind removed
450g each of carrots and potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large onions, finely chopped
250g swede or turnips, finely chopped
2 courgettes chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
sprigs of thyme and marjoram or oregano
2 bay leaves
2 large tomatoes roughly chopped
1 can flageolet beans, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground pepper
croutons – toast slices of baguette and rub with raw garlic
handful freshly grated gruyere or cheddar
- Heat the oil and sauté the bacon pieces until well cooked. Add the prepared vegetables and garlicand sauté for a few minutes until they start to colour.
- Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, add the herbs then cover and cook gently for an hour.
- Add the tomatoes and beans then cook for 15 minutes.
Check the seasoning, remove the sprigs of herbs and serve piping hot with the croutons covered in grated cheese
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