Serves 6

Ingredients

100g asparagus

100g green beans

100g peas

100g broad beans

2 courgettes

6 plum tomatoes

1 bunch spring onions

2 cloves garlic

1 bulb fennel

100g spaghetti

1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock

5 tbs pesto

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring a pan of chicken or vegetable stock to the boil.

2. To prepare your vegetables, start by cutting the fennel bulb in half, slicing and then finely chopping. Remove the thick ends from the asparagus by bending until weak and then snapping and then discard, before finely chopping the stalk - leave the tips whole. Quarter and then finely chop the courgettes. Finally, cut the tomatoes in half before removing the seeds and finely slicing. Beans and peas should be podded if not done so already.

3. In a large pan, add five tablespoons of olive oil and warm over a medium heat. To chop your clove of garlic, peel away the skin, crush with the flat side of a knife and then chop the garlic horizontally and then vertically until it is in small pieces. Add the garlic and the finely chopped spring onions to the pan and cook gently for around 15 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the prepared vegetables to the pan, along with the boiling stock and the spaghetti, which should be snapped into small pieces – do this quickly and easily by wrapping the spaghetti in a tea towel before snapping it against the edge of your work surface. Bring the contents of the pan to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. To serve your soup, spoon into large bowls before adding a tablespoon of pesto to each bowl, along with a sprinkling of chopped basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.