I have a feeling that cheap and cheerful comfort foods are going to be big on the menu for a while.

It was so cold today, I couldn’t shake it from my bones, no matter how I wrapped up, and so some sort of soup was on my mind when I got in from work. I knew I had lentils, and split peas, but then I found that I had half a large carrot left that needed using, and an idea formed. Fasolada. A Greek comfort food dish that never fails to hit the spot.

I found a small potato, an onion and some white beans ready cooked in the fridge but I had no fresh celery. You need the celery. Honest.

I do have a celery leaf plant in the garden, but the thought of trying to make my way across a wooden deck already frost rimed and slippery as glass was not appealing, so imagine my joy when I remembered a stash of celery in the freezer. The stalks and the leaves freeze really well, they’re worth saving in a tupperware, and you can use them from frozen. The stalks might turn a bit brown in the freezer, and the leaves will darken, but they’re perfectly alright to cook with.

I didn’t have any bay leaves, or I’d have added one of those in to the stock as well, but you make do with what you have.

This is not a highly spiced soup, it’s soothing, and gentle, but you can of course add garlic or chilli if you want to.

1/2 a medium sized red onion, thinly sliced

Half a large carrot, sliced into thin rounds (about a 3” piece)

1 small Cyprus potato, or any waxy potato, cubed

1 celery stalk, chopped finely plus leaves

700ml stock (I use Essential Cuisine chicken, which is not very salty)

1 tsp tomato paste

1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight and cooked til tender (or a 400g can, drained)

Pour a good glug of extra virgin olive oil into a large pan. I realise that this is not a useful measurement, so it’s probably around 3 to 4 tablespoons. This will also be a flavouring as well as a cooking medium, which is why I use extra virgin.

Pop in the onions, celery and carrot, stir to coat them with the oil, and cook gently until the onion is soft.

Add the beans, the tomato paste and the stock, give it a good stir and simmer for about half an hour.

Then add in the potato. Simmer again until the potato is tender. If the soup has condensed a little, just add a little more water.

Taste to see if you need to add salt, as some stocks are quite salty, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some crusty bread if you wish, or some cubed feta on top.

It is not a pretty soup to look at, but it is tasty, filling and warming.