French Bean and Chorizo Soup
French Beans impart great flavour and a very impressive texture to any soup. Add the taste burst of chorizo to the mixture and you have a soup which could easily be served in a top class restaurant. French Beans can also be called filet or fine beans, they are all the same.
Chorizo originates from Spain and is a spiced pork sausage which can easily be sliced. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Be aware that whilst standard chorizo is just slightly spiced, the "picante" type can be highly spiced and you can easily notice the difference!
500g / 1lb 2oz French Beans
2 medium (approx. 400g / 14oz) Potatoes
125g / 4½oz Chorizo
1 litre / 1¾ pint Vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried, 2 teaspoons fresh mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Roughly chop the French Beans (top and tail them if not already done), the peel the potatoes and cut them into rough 4cm / 2½in cubes.
Add hot stock, the beans and potatoes to a pan, bring to the boil then simmer for 25 minutes. Stir the soup every ten minutes or so.
French Bean Soup cooking
While the soup is cooking, chop the chorizo into bite sized chunks. Add them to a frying pan and cook on a medium to low heat for 12 minutes turning frequently. The chorizo will release its own fat as it is cooking and it is the fat which contains huge amounts of flavour.
Turn the heat off and keep the chorizo, and the fat from it, in the frying pan.
Chorizo chunks frying in a pan
When the soup has finished cooking liquidise it for a minute. Pour back into the pan and add the chorizo and all the fat that has come from it. Add the herbs, then taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Re-heat and serve with chunky French bread and a parsley garnish if available.
French Bean and Chorizo Soup served with bread
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20 May 2022 | From: Cath |
| Family really enjoyed it as a starter. | ||