The trick to this soup is to get a really good quality vegetable stock and use vegetables that are in season, they taste so much better. It may seem unusual to add oats to soup, but trust me, it works, they only need a minute or two at the end to soak up a little of that tasty stock but they add a lovely flavour and texture to the finished dish.
Serves 4 
45mins 3 tbsp olive oil
2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 bay leaf
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock
15oz potatoes, peeled and diced
1 x 14oz tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
5 cups Flahavans jumbo oats
handful cavolo nero, hard stalks removed and roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 bay leaf
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1.5litres vegetable stock
450g potatoes, peeled and diced
1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
100g Flahavans jumbo oats
50g cavolo nero, hard stalks removed and roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Large saucepan
