Bean Soup with Celery and Green Peppercorns: It has been glorious weather here, which has made us feel very guilty as the rest of Europe shivered below zero under blankets of snow. However, my phone now tells me there is a 100% chance of snow, and it is to be windy and chilly. So, before the colossal head of celery taking over my fridge loses its lustre, I thought I should turn it into lunch!

Comfort food – but needs a little planning as, ideally, the beans need to soak overnight. Perfect as a Bean Soup to make while working because it is chopped, sauteed, and left to cook for an hour or so. And to be honest, if you have forgotten to soak your beans, you can boil them in 2 to 3 times their water for 2 minutes, then cover and leave to soak for an hour. Drain, and you are good to go on your soup-making mission.

Use any soup bean mix or throw handfuls from packets in the store cupboard. My mix had chickpeas, black beans, green and split peas, coral lentils, black-eyed beans, roman beans and split mung beans. Keep the beans a similar size, and then add lentils.

An effortless fresh-tasting bean soup – I resisted the temptation to add too much spice, only the mild banana peppers, as the dried green peppercorns give it a lovely flavour together with the handfuls of celery – particularly the leaves, a little parmesan rind and good chicken or vegetable stock. However, stock cubes will also do the trick just fine.

Serve topped with finely shredded celery leaves and grated cheese.

Check out our Soups and Stews page for more warm dishes for cold days.