Ingredients

• 40g butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 shallots (approx. 100g) finely chopped
• 1 ltr chicken stock
• 300g potatoes peeled & chopped
• 450g watercress roughly chopped (discard coarser stems)
• 200ml single cream
• Salt & black pepper

Method

Put the butter, oil and shallots in a saucepan and fry gently until soft (approx. 5 mins).
Add the stock & potatoes, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add half the watercress and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. Take off the heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add half of the remaining watercress (leaves only so that wilt down and are not too fibrous).
Add the cream and whizz in a food processor until well pureed. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the remaining leaves for texture. Reheat before serving.

Serving suggestion

Serve with cheese and fennel seed scones.