Hearty Italian veg and white bean soup
A very hearty soup, nourishing and filling. This is not a liquidised soup though, just so you know. My family have required educating over the idea that not all soups have to have absolutely no lumps whatsoever in order to be edible.
Serves 6
Hearty Italian vegetable and bean soup
Ingredients
3 red onions
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bulb of fennel
5 sticks of celery
3 carrots
2 tbsp Tamari or Soy Sauce
Pepper to taste, it doesn’t need salt
3 tbsp of dried mixed herbs
1 potato
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 x 400g tin of butter beans
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 litres of vegetable stock
100 g spinach, rinsed
Method
Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and potato and finely chop the fennel.
Cut the celery and carrots into small pieces.
Sauté the onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil and the tamari until very lightly browned.
Add the celery, carrot and fennel to the pan with a grinding of pepper and the herbs.
Stir.
Add the potato.
Cook for 10 mins or so, stirring regularly.
Drain and rinse the butter beans and add to the pan along with the tomatoes and the stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.
When ready to serve, stir through the spinach and serve!
This recipe is from The Happy Pear recipe book by David and Stephen Flynn, with permission.
