We are in mid January, the festivities and merry lights already starting to fade into memories. The days are short and cold and spring sounds like an exotic perfume, far away and a little unattainable. 

Yet, this week we cut the hedges and trees in our garden, now that they sleep they are safe from harm, and looking closely at the falling twigs and branches you may see the buds that are forming already, little tiny nuggets ready to burst into green lushness as soon as the sun returns. 

And that’s when the workshop season will begin again. The time of balmy air and déjeuners in the garden, of picnics and basking in the sunlight. There still is a lot of uncertainty around probably everything in this new world but let’s not allow this to stop our planning and plotting for good times spent in good company. 

Registration is open for all the workshops and there still are spots left in all of them. I’m happy to answer your questions over lespoissonchats@gmx.ch if you are interested in attending! You will find more information here. 

The snow falling silently outside the window of my  kitchen brings me back into mid January, and I crave for food that warms the heart and feeds the soul. A Mogette Soup is just the perfect thing to answer this call. I spiced it with chilli and added fried sage leaves, and it was very delicious. And this is how it goes: 

What you’ll need

• 200g mogette beans
• One clove of garlic
• Sea salt
• A sip of vermouth
• A handful of sage leaves
• A nut of fresh butter
• Olive oil
• Chilli flakes
• Bacon pops

How to cook it

The day before, soak the beans in one litre of cold water overnight. 

Cook the beans with the clove of garlic, the salt and five sage leaves until they are melting (this probably takes about two hours). Take out three sage leaves and add the vermouth and the butter. Puree for five minutes, until you obtain a silky soupy texture. In case it is too thick, add a little cream or water. 

In a separate pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and brown the rest of the sage leaves crisp at medium temperature. Set them aside and add the bacon pops, fry until the white is translucent. 

Dress the soup with chilli flakes, fried sages leaves and for the carnivore amongst you, with fried bacon pops. Drizzle the rest of the frying fat over the soup, Pollock fashion. 

How to eat it

With a generous slice of fresh baguette of course. And because it’s January, a sip of white wine to go along is probably not entirely wrong.