Healthy and delicious Bean and Vegetable Soup

I probably read more cookbooks and food magazines than is good for me but then I almost always find some recipe worth trying out. Two recipes made it onto our table from the April issue of Delicious magazine: "Rose Harissa Pork with Quinoa and Dates" (not bad but if I made it again I would replace the quinoa with couscous) and "Borlotti bean, Tomato and Sage Soup" - both recipes developped by Georgina Fuggle. I was intrigued by the combination of borlotti beans and sage of which I have a big plant in my kitchen garden that survives even the hardest winter and of which I don't make too much use. Which is about to change, because this  recipe is definitely a winner. I changed the ingredients somewhat since I am in the process of cleaning out my freezer and we liked the result so much I will keep my version.

 

 Borlotti Beans

 

I started by soaking about a cup of borlotti beans overnight. If you want to start cooking straight away use a tin of the beans, but take care to drain and rinse them. If using the soaked beans, boil them in enough water until tender, drain, rinse and and reserve.

Finely chop 3 carots, 1 mild onion, 2 garlic cloves and 2 celery sticks and gently fry them in a good splash of olive oil, taking care not to brown the vegetables. Add a can of chopped tomatoes, 6 fresh sage leaves, 1 cup of hot vegetable stock and 2 roasted and skinned red peppers (which I had left over in the freezer). Gently boil until the vegetables are tender, remove half and liquidize in a mixer or with a stick blender, then return to the pot. Stir in the borlotti beans and sprinkle with plenty of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.

 



Healthy and pretty - Bean and Vegetable Soup