White Bean and Tomato Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   In advanceSoak the white beans overnight in cold water, drain and rinse.

   ⚙ SoakingBowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion, celery and carrot and fry 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 5
   Sprinkle in the cumin and paprika and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 6
   Add the legumes, tomatoes, tomato paste, water and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam with a spoon.

   Stove
3. 7
   Turn down the heat and simmer with a lid 90 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 8
   Remove the bay leaves.
5. 9
   Season with salt and black pepper, taste and adjust.