White Bean Stew with Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   In advanceSoak the white beans overnight in cold water, drain and cook in fresh water for about an hour, until tender but not falling apart.

   Bowl

   💡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.

   StovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion, celery and carrot and fry 10 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.

   Stove

   💡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.

   Stove

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

To assemble

1. 5
   Add the chopped greens stems and sweat with the onion for a few minutes.

   Stove
2. 6
   Add the mushrooms and fry 4 minutes, until they release their liquid and start to brown at the edges.

   Stove
3. 7
   Sprinkle in the cumin and paprika and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
4. 8
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
5. 9
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
6. 10
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 11
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
8. 12
   Add the legumes, tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and sweet potato and bring to a boil.

   Stove
9. 13
   Turn down the heat and simmer uncovered 25 minutes, until the legumes is tender and the sweet potato is completely soft: some of the cubes break down and thicken the sauce.

   Stove
10. 14
    Add the leaves and cook 5 minutes, until it is wilted and dark green.

    Stove
11. 15
    Remove the bay leaves.
12. 16
    Season with salt and black pepper and the lemon juice, taste and adjust.

    💡The lemon goes in at the end: acid at the start of cooking slows down the softening of the legumes. Adjust the salt at the end, after the soup has reduced.
13. 17
    Serve hot in deep bowls with bread.