Carrot and Mayocoba Soup

So many of the best dishes arise from a determination to find a use for stubbornly lingering ingredients. Everyone has a bag of carrots in the fridge, and this may be the best home for them!

  • 120g cubed pancetta

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about a spoonful to garnish

  • 1 onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

  • 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)

  • 1.5-2lb/0.7-1kg carrots, peeled and chopped

  • 700ml chicken or vegetable stock

  • 400g cooked Mayocoba beans (plus 250ml bean broth)

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Chopped fresh parsley

Serves 2–4

  1. In a large pot, cook the pancetta in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until cooked through and chewy, about 7–10 minutes. Keep stirring so that the pieces don’t burn. Remove the pancetta and reserve, leaving the oil in the hot pan. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and carrots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, taking care to scrape any caramelized bits off the bottom of the pot, and stir to incorporate them into the liquid. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

  2. Add the beans and the broth to the carrot mixture. Stir well and then puree them with an immersion stick blender or in batches in a worktop blender, taking care not to overfill the blender jar with hot liquid. You can also puree without the beans and add them later if you want more texture to your soup. Cook the blended soup for another 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Check for seasoning, noting that the pancetta can be salty and possibly your cooked beans as well.

  3. Serve topped with the reserved pancetta, chopped parsley and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.