Australian Gourmet Traveller - (03)March 2019 (1)

30 gm unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

150 gm canned cannellini

beans, drained

250 ml (1 cup) vegetable

or chicken stock

350 gm watercress

500 gm spinach, trimmed

Light pouring cream and

dried chilli flakes (optional),

to serve

VELLUTATA DISPINACI E CRESCIONE

Spinach and watercress soup

SERVES 4

“Vellutata means ‘velvety’ and this soup is indeed quite velvety and
delicious,” says Del Conte. “It is a favourite of mine, despite it not being really
Italian. The recipe was given to me by a friend, a very good English cook.
I like the soup very much because the watercress here is not really cooked,
just heated through, and thus it keeps its distinctive peppery flavour.”

1 Heat butter and oil in a large

saucepan over medium heat,

then add onion and a pinch

of salt. Gently fry the onion

for a few minutes, stirring

frequently so that it just

becomes soft and slightly

coloured, not golden.

2 Add cannellini beans and

stock to the soup, and bring

to the boil. Add watercress and

spinach, and mix well. Do this

a little at a time, stirring all the

while so that the vegetables

easily fit in the saucepan.

As soon as all the vegetables

are in, give the soup a good

stir and turn the heat off.

The watercress and spinach

should just wilt, not cook.

3 Use a hand-held blender

to blend soup for a few

seconds. Season to taste,

then ladle soup into individual

bowls. Serve as it is or with

pouring cream or, for a kick,

with a pinch of dried chilli

flakes on top.●

GOURMET TRAVELLER 107

This extract fromVegetables

all’Italianaby Anna Del Conte

(Pavilion Books, hbk, $39.99)

has been reproduced with

minorGT style changes.