An MGW (my mother) classic. Delicious chilled, warm or hot. And like all my mother's recipes it doesn’t take much work. Faffing around in the kitchen, when she had five children + assorted extras to feed, was hardly her scene.

Ingredients - serves 6

400g broad beans, podded
1kg young broad beans in the pod, cut into two inch lengths
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large leeks, washed and chopped
a few sprigs of mint
1 ltr vegetable stock
sugar and red wine vinegar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
tub of crème fraiche

Method

Gently fry the onions and leeks until soft, add the whole young broad beans, a heaped teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of vinegar and fry gently for 5-10 minutes. Pour over the stock and simmer for a further 5 minutes then add the podded beans and simmer until cooked. Process in a blender or liquidiser and adjust the seasoning. Stir in half the crème fraiche and bring back up to heat.

The soup can be served chilled, warm or hot with the rest of the crème fraiche spooned into individual bowls.