Thick Bean and Tomato Soup

The weather is cooling off in the evenings (down to the 50s), making soup a welcome meal.

A good vegetable stock and some vegetables and grains or beans makes a great soup.

This Bean and Tomato soup is a little more complicated than I usually make, but it's worth the extra time. First I made a thick tomato soup and puréed it. Then I added cooked beans and more chopped vegetables for texture. When they were tender, dinner was served. (For my simpler creamy tomato soup, see here.)

We ate this delicious soup three times this week, and I've frozen the rest to eat in future weeks. It makes a lot, which is a plus in my book.

I love good soup.

Thick Bean and Tomato Soup
3 tbsp butter or olive oil
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced 1/2 inch
1 leek, white only, halved and sliced
3 onions, peeled and diced, divided use
3 cups diced celery, divided use
28 oz can tomatoes
1 lb tomatoes, quartered and stem removed
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
3 cups vegetable stock and 5 cups water (or some combination)
4 carrots, diced (about 2 cups)
2 fennel bulbs, diced (about 2 cups)
1 1/3 cups white beans, cooked (or 2 cans, drained)

Melt butter in large soup kettle and sauté potato, leek, 1 onion and 1 cup diced celery, stirring frequently, until onion just starts to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes; stir well, scraping any onion off bottom of pan. Add oregano, water and stock. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook, loosely covered, until soup begins to thicken, about 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender). Season with a teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Depending on the saltiness of the stock you used, you'll need to add more salt. I added close to a tablespoon. (Still very little salt compared to packaged soups.)

Stir in carrot, fennel, remaining onion and celery, and simmer gently until they are almost tender. Stir in the cooked beans, and keep cooking until all is warm and tender, stirring regularly, about 25 minutes total.

Taste and season to taste.

Serves 10-16

Lasts a week in the fridge. Freezes well too.