Tomato, Bean and Kale Soup

This soup is really easy to make, and doesn't take long.  It's delicious.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Onions, chopped
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 Leek, sliced lengthways and chopped
4 carrots, sliced or diced
Green beans, topped and tailed and sliced into 2 cm pieces
5 tomatoes, chopped ( or a tin of tomatoes )
A load of Kale, chopped
About 300g cooked beans (Flageolet, Borlotti, Haricot etc.)
Salt
1 tsp dried sage
1 Chilli, seeded and chopped
A kettle full of boiling water

This is easy peasy to make.  Just add the ingredients into the pan in the order listed.  i.e. start chopping the onions, then add them and the oil to the pan and cook on a low light while the soften.  Then crush the garlic, and add it, the slice the leek etc.

By the time you've added the water, it only takes about 15-20 minutes.  The carrot should be 'just cooked'.  It might feel undercooked, but it keeps the flavour and texture.

Serves 4-6

Lentilles Basquaise

This is a family favourite going back to 2013. We were in holiday in the SW France when my youngest had 'poulet Basquaise' in a little restaurant tin Bayonne. It's a regional dish they're proud of and I was asked to learn how to make it. We bought a post card with the recipe on and I worked it out, and also a vegetarian option for me.

This is a casserole based on tomatoes and other vegetables, but it's different from a regular tomato sauce.

 

Ingredients

12 tomatoes

3 peppers

2 cloves of garlic

I onion

About 300g flageolet beans

200g black lentils

About 8 mushrooms 

A bit of  Balsamic vinegar
A bottle of white wine, or cider

Smoked paprika

Paprika

Basil

Sunflower oil

Method 

Peel and chop the onions, crush the garlic and fry with the oil and spices.

 

Once the onions have started to soften, add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.

Then add the peppers and lentils and cook for 5 mins.

At this point, I split it into two pans as I was making a carnivore option.

Add the tomatoes, basil and flageolet beans and store it up, then add the wine.

 

 

 

If it's not wet enough add some stock. Bring it to the book and then out in an oven at 140 degrees for 2 hours.

Serve with rice or garlic bread, or whatever you fancy.