Watercress & Rocket Soup With Garlic, Ham & Feta Welsh Rarebit

I’ve had an odd craving for green leaves recently. There’s something about green food that’s ridiculously appetising to me, I love a good salad but even though it’s spring, most days it feels way too cold for salad. Soup is kind of like a hug in a bowl and you have no idea how happy it makes me to have a bowl of green food in front of me and I get the added bonus of sort of stomping on those leafy cravings.

I like soup but honestly I tend not to eat it that frequently, I always find a bowl is too much because it makes me feel all sloshy; you know like when you’re really thirsty and you down a glass of water and then it feels like there’s a river in your belly, it’s kind of like that but a little more ...swampy. I probably shouldn’t say stuff like that, I think I’ve really perfected the art of saying things that potentially put people off eating, never mind, this is obviously called waffle and whisk for a reason! This soup is delicious though and you know it's good when I still eat two bowls regardless of the potential stomach sloshing.
Also, I can’t sing the praises of this Welsh rarebit enough; I’m all but drooling thinking about it. Do you know what Welsh rarebit is? No? Well we’re on the same page then! I Googled it about a week ago when I decided to make this and apparently it’s sort of like cheese sauce on toast.

I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m going on about seeing as I made it but this is another one of those “how my mother makes it” kind of things where that’s all I ever knew Welsh rarebit to be. Turns out, not that much like Welsh rarebit at all, although I only briefly looked it up and it seems relatively open to interpretation.

I’m not sure why I’ve never thought it switch it up before and add garlic and different types of cheeses but I just opened myself up to a world of possibilities, next stop anything I can find in the fridge! For now though this is the best Welsh rarebit I’ve had and I’ll still stand by that fact you can’t really go wrong with cheese and garlic, add in a little ham and I’m about ready to get back in the kitchen and make more of this.
Watercress & Rocket Soup
1 medium onion
1 medium potato
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp butter/margarine
1 litre vegetable stock
Salt, pepper & parsley
85g watercress
85g rocket

Welsh Rarebit
4 small slices of bread
1 egg
1 clove of garlic, grated/crushed
2 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 oz ham, sliced
Dried parsley

Peel and cut the onion, potato and garlic into medium sized pieces and add to a large saucepan on a low heat with the butter and lightly cook until the onion slightly softens.
Add the vegetable stock, season with salt, pepper and parsley, bring to the boil then gently simmer until the potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes).
Add the watercress and rocket and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes then take off the heat and blend until smooth.
Serve with a few extra leaves and crumble in some feta.

To make the Welsh rarebit lightly toast the bread on each side, while the bread is toasting crack the egg into a bowl and lightly whisk with a fork. To the egg add the garlic, cheeses, ham and parsley and mix. Spoon the mixture into the bread and place under the grill until golden on top.

Serves 4