Hearty Bean Soup with Croutons

Hearty Bean Soup with Croutons

Soup sustains; it feeds the body, mind and soul. That’s why it’s called soul food by those in the know - those who breathe the secret magic of the inner soup realm. Haha, there’s always sorcery involved, because soup recipes are actually spells, rather than mere cooking instructions. (Even Muggles know that soup makes you feel better when you’re sick.) 🤗❤️

There’s always a pot of soup on my stove, really. I couldn’t live without it and will, happily, consume it for breakfast (and lunch, and, and...dinner 💕). My spell book is chock-a-block - packed with ideas - but one of my all time favorite soup recipes is a hand-me-down that I was introduced to by a very special friend.

This red speckled bean soup is, actually, a traditional Afrikaans (South African) speciality. I’ve adapted it to suit my vegan tastes, and it’s really, really worth the effort - brown bean heaven in a bowl. (for me it’s also the broth of nostalgia. Memories of laughter, girl-parties and fun with my very bestest, bestie )

PS : - The foundation for this soup is the classic combination of onion, leeks, celery and carrot (called Mirepoix). This foundation can be used to make a variety of soups : - add oven roasted mushrooms, tomatoes or butternut to make, well, mushroom, tomato or butternut soup. Add split peas for pea soup or parsnip and barley for vegetable barley soup.

Ingredients

_1 ¼ cup of dried red speckled beans
_50g tomato paste
_4 small carrots (or 2 large)
_2 stalks of celery
_2 leeks
_3 potatoes
_1 onion (white or red)
_Vegetable stock (I use a stock cube)
_Vegetable oil (about 3 tablespoons)
_Handful Italian Parsley
_Water

Method

The beans

_Rinse the beans under cold water and remove any that are imperfect.
_Cover with water (3 times their volume).
_Allow to soak overnight.
_Drain and discard the water.
_Cover with water in a heavy based saucepan and bring to the boil.
_Boil for 10 minutes. Drain and discard this water (removing any toxins from beans)
_Cover with water (fill a large pot) and allow the beans to cook over medium heat until they are tender (2-3 hours). Retain the cooking liquid (broth)
_DO NOT ADD ANY SALT OR SEASONING TO THE BEANS AS THEY WILL NOT TENDERIZE.

The soup

_Dice onion. Rib and dice celery (including leaves), dice leeks.
_Add oil to a large saucepan and sweat (sauté over low heat) the onion, leeks and celery. (5 minutes)
_Add carrots to the saucepan and sauté for another two minutes.
_Dice potatoes into bite sized pieces. Reserve ½ a potato (do not dice, but add to the pot). Add all to the pot.
_Add beans, including cooking liquid and an additional 1- 1 ½ liters of water to the pot.
_Bring to the boil. Cook for 10 minutes
_Add stock cube, seasoning and tomato paste to the pot.
_Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender (20 minutes)
_Scoop 2-3 soup spoon ladles of the soup into a blender. Add the halved potato from the pot and blend.
_Return the mixture from the blender to the pot and heat through
_Serve with crunchy croutons and a sprinkle of mixed seeds (pumpkin, pine nut, sesame are all good)