Winter has arrived here in Jerusalem and a hearty soup meal is the panacea to both stave off your hunger pangs and help keep the chill out of your bones. Pulses – beans – make nice, thick, never-fail soups – full of flavour, protein and general healthy goodness. Cost-effective and easy to make, bean soups can help a family keep to its budget, but are also a nice rustic Tuscan country-kitchen option for hosting and entertaining.
If you are using dried beans, they must be soaked for at least eight hours before cooking. While it’s just as easy to buy two cans of white beans from the supermarket to add them to the soup, it is a little less authentic.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 chilli pepper, seeds removed
- 3 sage leaves
- 2 carrots, cubed very small
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- Handful of cherry tomatoes (optional)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 cups dried white beans (soaked) or two 500-gram cans (approximately)
- 5–6 cups of vegetable stock or water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach (optional)
Method:
Heat oil in pot over medium heat, add onions and sauté until they start to clarify. Add garlic, chilli pepper and sage leaves. Sauté for a minute, then add carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and thyme. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add beans, 5 cups of stock (or water) and bay leaves, with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add that extra cup of liquids. At this point the soup is ready to serve. You can stir in the baby spinach leaves or eat without.
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