Chunky bean and tomato soup
This was created on a cold dark January day. You can leave it chunky like a stew as in the photo, or whizz up to be smooth as in the recipe write up.
Smaller portions make a great sauce for pasta with a little creme fraich / sour cream & parmesan.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or coconut oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 peppers red, yellow or orange
- 2 large fresh tomatoes
- 2 tbsp low salt soy sauce (or Worcester)
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 bag of kale
- Optional—1 veg stock cube
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tins of your choice of beans. I used aduki and cannellini
- Herbs—your choice, I used 2 tsp dried mixed plus 2 bay leaves, & 3 sprigs of thyme
- Seasoning
Method
- In your largest saucepan gently heat the oil.
- Add the onion, soften for 5 minutes, then add the celery & garlic. Fry gently for another 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the veg apart from the kale. Stir well. Season.
- Add the stock cube if using, the chopped tomatoes + refill each tin once with water & add that too.
- Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the herbs, soy sauce and nutritional yeast.
- Simmer gently until the veg is soft—probably 30 minutes.
- Open the tinned beans, rinse and drain well.
- Add the beans & kale to the saucepan, put the lid back on simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn the heat off if cooked enough for your liking.
- Fish out any fresh herbs & bay leaves you can’t be blended.
- Add the beans, then whizz with a hand blender. Season. Add more water if too thick, if too watery you can continue to cook with the lid off to thicken.
- Enjoy fresh, or will happily keep in the fridge for 2 days. Freezes brilliantly too.
Servings:
8-10
Ready In:
About an hour
Good For:
Anytime
Health Benefits
Tomatoes (passata) are rich in Vits A & C + minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, potassium & sodium. Great for the heart & detoxifying the blood & strengthening digestion.
Probably best known though is the amount of lycopene they contain, which increases in cooking tomatoes. This powerful anti-oxidant is thought to help reduce the bad cholesterol & be effective in cancer prevention.
Beans & lentils - Great for the heart, steadying blood sugar levels, satiety levels and energy, fibre. They have high levels of polyphenols in the darker beans, and count as 1 of your 5 a day. High in folate, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, copper & iron.
Herbs - antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, glucose & cholesterol-lowering activities, as well as properties that improve the brain function & mood.
Leafy green vegetables— arguably the most important part of a healthy diet, packed with vitamins, minerals & fibre but low in calories.
