The sky is heavy and grey and the rain is tapping on the roof in a way that is so comforting when it is still an autumn novelty. In a few months the sound will fill me with annoyance of another day unable to get out with my toddler, another day on the sidelines of a sodden, cold hockey turf. But for now, it sounds like the seasons changing. And of soup.

My youngest loves mushrooms and we had a bag in the fridge, so this is what we made for lunch together.

Clementine’s Mushroom Soup

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

Mushrooms

Thyme

1 small potato

Chicken stock

Alphabet pasta

A handful of kale, ripped into small pieces

Pinenuts

Parmesan

Gently fry your onion and garlic in plenty of olive oil until sweet and soft. Add the potato and thyme and stir until everything is nicely coated in oil. Add a good pinch of salt and then the chicken stock.

While this is happening, fry your mushrooms in a good amount of butter in a different pan. Try not to overcrowd them. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and then add the pasta and mushrooms.

Finally, in the now empty but still oily frying pan, fry the kale and pine nuts to garnish the soup.

Top with plenty of parmesan and enjoy as the rain patters outside x