Summer seems to have gone, and now we need to keep away all the illnesses that autumn and winter brings.

We make soup in our home, lots and lots of soup. It's so easy and most soups are a quick meal in themselves, accompanied with a massive chunk of healthy artisan bread.

This is Watercress and potato soup. Watercress is a vitamin and mineral rich superfood packed with vitamin C, iron and calcium. We have watercress beds not far from us in the stunning Hampshire countryside so it is all the more special.

There are lots of recipes for this soup on the internet but this is my favourite. It comes from Bill Collison's 'Eat Cook Smile' cookbook.

Serves 8

2 onions, diced

1 stick of celery diced

600g new potatoes, washed and cut into chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

3 bunches of watercress (approx.250g), washed

1.25 litre hot vegetable stock

1tsp honey

nutmeg (optional)

creme fraiche for serving

Cook the onions, celery and potatoes gently in the oil in a large pan for 15-20 minutes. Setting a few sprigs aside for garnishing, add the rest of the watercress and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.

Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes then, making sure the soup is cool enough to blend without scalding, liquidize everything until very smooth.

Bring back to serving temperature in the pan, stir in the honey and season with freshly ground black pepper, and a grating of nutmeg if you like it.

Serve each bowl of soup with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a watercress sprig.

We served the soup with Tradional Irish Wheaten bread. YUM!