There comes a time towards the end of winter, usually mid-February or so, when you still want a nice warming soup, but you want it to be, well, a little lighter, a little fruitier, a little zestier than the big robust potages you’ve been cooking over the last few months. This is it, it’s light, it’s fruity, it’s zesty, it’s still warming and filling, it’s absolutely perfect for this time of year. It is a movable feast in that as veg come into season, the winter ones can be replaced with spring one, such as the chard for beans. A vegan alternative to cheese rinds is white miso, to give that umami hit. We enjoyed it so much, we've kept it in the recipe - apologies to minestrone purists.

1 red onion, chopped

1 small leek, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

5 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced into 1cm dice

3 baby turnips, peeled and diced into 1cm dice

5 large chard leaves, stalks stripped out and chopped, remaining leaves coarsely shredded

1 tbspn chopped parsley stalks

1 tbspn chopped parsley leaves

A handful of miscellaneous cheese rinds, especially vegetarian Parmesan (optional, but well worth saving your rinds for)

400g tin of Borlotti beans

1 litre Vegetable Nage or Stock

500mls water

1.5 tbspn tomato puree

1 bay leaf

1 sprig lemon thyme

1 tbsp white miso

Salt and pepper

Vegetarian Parmesan cheese and bread to serve

• In a wok or large saucepan, sweat the onion, leek, celery and carrot gently for 20 minutes. Add the nage, water and cheese rinds and simmer for a further 20 minutes

• Sieve the soup, discarding the veg and cheese rinds, then return the sieved soup to the wok or pan, add half of the Borlottii beans, the chopped parsley stalks, the thyme, the bay leaf, the tomato puree and the tomatoes, and bring back to a bubble. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the turnips and the rest of the Borlotti beans. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the chard. Simmer for 5 minutes, and add the parsley leaves and miso. Season well.

• Serve in bowls with skinny toasted croutons and grated parmesan on the side