Recipe: Spicy Bean and Watercress Soup

So I still had another pack of watercress in the fridge that had been in there for aaages and it had to be used up, so I thought I would make another soup again. I have got such a bad cold at the moment, just sniffling and sneezing all over the place, so I thought I would make something a little spicier than i normally would too, so that I could actually taste it properly! However, i felt like i didn't want to make the traditional milky/potato-ey watercress soup, so i decided to be a little experimental and just chuck in loads of bits and bobs from the fridges/ cupboards that needed using up. It turned out to be absolutely delicious, and Nick loved it too (and was surprized by how spicy it was as well!). It is important you try and pick pretty much all the stalks off the watercress- because you want it to wilt in the soup just like baby spinach would- takes about 15-20mins to trim but it's worth it, you can just do it during stage 2 whilst the soup is bubbling on the stove. You can also blend all of the soup if you want it smooth, but this time I wanted a bit of texture.

Spicy Mexican Bean and Watercress Soup (serves 3)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium white onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sundried tomato pesto
100g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 medium potatoes, diced
1 tsp cumin
Small handful fresh coriander, chopped finely
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
1 x 215g tin Discovery Mexican Spicy refried beans
75g watercress, trimmed of all stalks
Salt and pepper to taste
Philadelphia or sour cream for garnish (optional)

1. Sautee the onion, celery and garlic with the butter and oil in a pan for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pesto, tinned tomatoes, potatoes, cumin and coriander, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the stock and sugar, bring to the boil, and cook on a medium/high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the refried beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Add the trimmed watercress, and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste, and blend 3 large landlefuls of the soup in a blender (about a third). Return the blended soup to the pan, stir, season to taste, and bring back to the heat. Serve, each bowl garnished with a tsp of Philadelphia or sour cream if you like.