Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 200 grams of potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 ¼ pint or 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
•  1 small cucumber, cut into chunks
• 80 grams or 3 oz bunch of watercress
• 125 grams of green (dwarf) beans, trimmed and halved in length
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the cubed potatoes and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
2. Stir in the stock; bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the cucumber to the pan and cook for a further 3 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Test by inserting the tip of a knife into the potato cubes-it should pass through easily.
4. Add the watercress and allow to wilt. then place the soup in a food processor and blend until smooth. Altervatively, before adding the watercress,mash the soup with a potato masher and push through a sieve,then chop the watercress finely and stir into soup.
5. Bring a small pan of water to the boil and steam the beans for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
6. Add the beans to the soup, season and warm through.