Robin Ellis

A soup for cold January evenings.

Borlotti beans are the speckly ones–mottled white and red uncooked.

Cooking changes them to brown, which is a little disappointing.

They have a nutty flavor that distinguishes them from cannellini beans–and lends an air of gravity to this winter vegetable soup that white beans can’t quite achieve.

You can substitute white for borlotti, of course.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot–diced small

1 onion–diced small

1 celery stick–diced small

1 garlic clove–chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

600 mil  vegetable stock (I use organic stock cubes)

400 gms tinned (canned) tomatoes–drained and chopped

400 gms tinned (canned–or in a jar) borlotti beans–drained

salt and pepper

125 gms thinly sliced cabbage–I use savoy cabbage

parmesan cheese (grated for garnish)

There are three simple stages:

1) Heat the oil in a pan and gently soften the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and fresh thyme (if you have it).

2) Mix in the broken-up tomatoes, the beans and the stock and season well–salt (to taste) and plenty of fresh ground pepper.

Bring these up to the simmer and cook on with the pan partially covered for 15 minutes.

3) Stir in the cabbage and cook until tender.

Serve hot with grated parmesan and a swirl of olive oil.

Tastes even better the day after…