Cannelini Bean & Carrot Soup with Parsley

This traditional Croatian dish is particularly satisfying in winter, but you can cook it all year round and the leftovers make for a hearty meal. You can also use other dry beans such as borlotti, red kidney or small lima beans.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups dry cannelini beans
  • 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 large very soft tomato, coarsely chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 TBSP imitation bacon chips
  • 2 TBSP ground sweet paprika
  • 2 TBSP plain white flour
  • 3 TBSP parsley, finely chopped
  • Cracked black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, uncovered, or a soup pot and sauté the onion and garlic.
  2. Add the carrots, tomato, cannelini beans, salt, pepper, bacon chips and 6 cups of water. Mix well.
  3. Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and turn up the heat. Once the pressure has built up, turn down the heat and cook for 20 minutes. If you are cooking the beans on a conventional stove, cover the soup pot with a lid until the soup comes to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 50 minutes, or until the beans are soft, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the ground paprika to the flour, and gradually stir in ½ cup of water until smooth, thin paste forms. Make sure there are no lumps. Mix the paste into the bean soup and bring to the boil.
  5. Boil the soup for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.
  6. Mix in the parsley and serve the soup hot as a main course with crusty wholegrain bread. A fresh salad made from tomato and onion or coleslaw makes a nice accompaniment.

Serves 12

Tips

  • Easy preparation the night before: pick over the beans to remove any stones and place them in large bowl. Cover with plenty of water, allowing the beans to soak overnight so they will take less time to cook.
  • What you need: The quickest way to cook beans is to use a pressure cooker, which takes around 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook the beans on a conventional stove, which will take around 50 minutes or more depending on the bean.

Per serve: energy 1020 kJ (243 Cal); protein 12 g; fat4g; saturated fat1 g; cholesterol 0 mg; carbohydrate 43 g; fibre 15 g; calcium113mg; iron 5 mg; sodium 611 mg