Farmhouse Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 carrots
2 turnips
2 celery ribs
2 leeks
1/2 cabbage
60 g butter
300 g bacon joint
8 cups chicken stock
125 g French beans
2 potatoes
125 g peas
1/2 cup gruyere cheese

Preparation

Dice the carrots, and turnips and white portion of the leeks.
Melt butter in a large pan. Put in the carrots, turnips, leeks and soften on low heat for 10minutes, stirring occasionally.
Wash the bacon in cold water and put in a saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10minutes on low heat, drain and set aside to cool.
Finely shred the cabbage, and chop the bacon into cubes.
Add stock and bacon and cabbage to the vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer gently for about 1hour.
Cap and string the beans, wash and cut into pieces about 4cm long. Chop the celery and cube the potatoes.
About 20minutes before end of cooking time, add cubed potatoes and peas to soup and cook further until tender.
Serve with croutons (optional) and grated Gruyere Cheese.