Ribollita-strone

The sun keeps poking its head around the clouds and peering into my office space (which is actually a corner of my bedroom but for daylight hours it’s my office). It’s spring, me thinks, until I go outside in my new very lightweight navy drape coat and realise it is, in fact, still bloody cold. This cusp of the seasons confusion has been long lamented by fashionistas who can’t decide whether they should be wearing woolly jumpers or a flimsy shrug, oh the wardrobe dilemmas. Well, they bother me far less than seasonal food confusion. I’m not craving those thick beef stews anymore (although that could be a subconscious horse paranoia) and I’m not onto salads and lighter bites – although vegetables rather than massive piles of mashed potato are quite appealing. In short, what can I eat that’s packed with healthy veg for a new leaner spring-like meal that’s also going to take the edge off my chilly extremities? Two mighty Italian soups come to the rescue, ribollita is a superhero of a soup – a soupahero if you will. It’s packed with gorgeous vegetables in a light broth and punchy aniseed flavours, but I also like the whole meal in a bowl vibe I get from the pasta in minestrone so here’s my conglomeration of both.

Serves 3

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely diced

¼ of a head of celeriac or 2 sticks of celery, finely diced

½ courgette

400g tin cannelini beans

1.5 pint chicken stock

2 handfuls dried wholewheat conchiglia (shell pasta)

4 small tomatoes, roughly chopped

400g cavalo nero, shredded

1 tsp fennel seeds

1. In a large pan heat a good glug of olive oil. Fry the onion for 2 minutes and then add the garlic carrot, celeriac or celery and courgette and cover with a lid, sweat gently for 10 more minutes until all the veg is soft.
2. Add the beans to the pot with the stock, pasta, tomatoes and cavalo nere, add some freshly ground black pepper and the fennel seeds and give it a good stir. Bring the soup to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Serve ladled into bowls.

Artichoke and goat's cheese risotto with chilli gremolata

I came up with this recipe last week when my vegetarian friend Amy came for dinner. I love risotto, it's so simple and flavoursome. I find restaurants often overload the rice dish with cream and butter, which ruins it for me and for my waistline. This risotto takes the strong flavour from the goat's cheese to add richness, so you don't need to add too much. The gremolata is an Italian seasoning usually made of parsley, lemon and garlic it can be added to meat dishes or pasta and I've added chilli to this one for a contrast with that creamy goat's cheese.

Serves 2 greedy girls

4-5 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g risotto rice
250ml white wine
1.5 pint vegetable stock
1 jar marinated artichokes
100g strong goat's cheese
25g parmesan, grated

For the gremolata
handful of parsley, finely chopped
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 a red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped


1 In a large saucepan, fry the shallots in a little olive oil until soft and starting to brown, then add the garlic and fry for a minute or two longer. Add the rice and give it a good stir to coat the rice in oil.
2. After a couple of minutes add the wine and stir and season well. Then spoon in a ladle of stock wait until nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed before adding another ladle of stock. Repeat until all of the stock has been used or the rice is cooked yet still has a bite to it. If it is too dry add more stock.
3. Meanwhile combine the gremolata ingredients in a small bowl and give it a good stir.
4. When the risotto is nearly cooked add the artichoke hearts. Tear the goat's cheese into strips, reserving two slices. Add the goat's cheese and a big pinch of parmesan and stir until melted. Taste and season if necessary.
5. Spoon the risotto into bowls it should not be too firm and should have a slight creamy sauce consistency. Add a slice of goat's cheese to each bowl and sprinkle with the gremolata and parmesan and serve.

Try this with fennel as well simply add chopped fennel to the frying onions and garlic.