Spent The Afternoon.......

Spent the afternoon making Tuscan Bean Soup, it is so scrumptious I thought I would share the recipe.

Hope you enjoy it as much as me!

Preparation and cooking time : 2 hours

Serves 6

275g mixed dried beans, chickpeas, soya, black-eyed, pinto, haricot, kidney. Or any others you fancy!

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 small leek, sliced

4 garlic gloves, crushed

900ml vegetable stock

400g tinned chopped plum tomatoes

20g finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

75g mushrooms, sliced

75g shelled fresh peas,or, if unavailable frozen peas

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

140g tomato paste

salt and ground pepper to taste

Soak the beans in plenty of cold water over night.

Drain and place in a saucepan with plenty of water, bring to the boil, and then gently simmer for about 1 hour until beans are tender.

Drain and put to one side.

Heat oil and cook the onion, leek and garlic gently until soft in a saucepan, add the vegetable stock, and the drained beans. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, parsley, mushrooms, peas, oregano and tomato paste and simmer for a further 15 minutes until all vegetables are tender. 

Cool a little, and then purée the soup in a liquidiser ( I have tried only puréeing one quarter of the soup and returning it to the pan, both options are worth trying)

Simmer for ten minutes before serving and season to taste.

This soup is even more delicious when eaten the next day...........