In our home it is a tradition to cook bean soup with vegetables for Christmas Eve. It is usually cooked with small white beans – the belief is that the more grains in your bowl, the more health and money you will have in the new year! And the different vegetables symbolize the fertility in our garden – as many vegetables on the table, so much fertility in the garden in the new year! The light color of the soup is to brighten your upcoming year and make more good things happen to you! The choice of vegetables also has its significance – onions for health, carrots for stability, celery for purity and growth, red peppers for success, red tomatoes for protection! I don’t know if these things matter, but these are the beliefs of my grandmothers and great-grandmothers that we have preserved over the years and are still present in our daily lives.
This recipe is my vision for my grandmothers’ bean soup, as I have kept the general symbolism of the traditional bean soup, but I use different ingredients. Usually whole dried peppers were added to winter soups, but I personally prefer to add pieces of dried peppers – so there are no stalks of whole pepper seeds left in the soup. I decided to use celery instead of head for a milder taste and aroma. I added some spices for a richer taste because my grandmother only added mint to the bean soups. And I add salt after removing the pot of ready-made soup from the stove, as it interferes with the cooking of beans. And to preserve the useful fats of olive oil and mint, I add them at the end. The soup has a slightly sweet taste, so I serve it with a salad of chopped sauerkraut.
Bean soup Badnik
Course: Recipes, Soups1600
грама12
hours2
hours30
minutes1209.81
ккалSoup of small white beans and winter vegetables
INGREDIENTS
250 g white dry beans
2 liters spring water for soaking for 12 hours
+ 1 liter spring water for boiling2 liters spring water for cooking
160 g onion
80 g carrots
150 g celery stalks /stem celery/
10 g dried red peppers
can be replaced with 100 g. fresh red peppers80 g fresh red tomatoes
can be replaced with canned tomatoes5 g coriander seeds ground
2 g ground cumin
1 g ground cardamom
2 g fennel seeds ground
20 g extra virgin olive oil
7 g Himalayan pink salt
can be replaced with any other salt10 g fresh mint leaves
can be replaced with 2 g of dried mint
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- I clean the beans from impurities, wash and soak in spring water for 12 hours. I usually do this the night before and cook it the next day.
- Drain the soaked beans from the water, wash well and pour into the cooking pot. I add enough water to be 1 cm above the beans – for 250 g. beans it is about 1 liter of water. I put the pot on the stove and turn on the highest heat. When the water boils and foam forms on the surface, drain the beans and wash well under running water until the foam is completely washed away.
- Pour the washed beans in a saucepan and pour spring water for cooking – for 250 g. beans add 2 liters. I put the pot on the already heated stove and wait for the water to boil again.
- Peel an onion, wash well and chop finely. I wash the carrots and grate them on a coarse grater. I wash the celery stalks and cut them into 0.5 cm pieces. I measure the required amount of dried red peppers. I use peppers that we have grown in our garden during the summer and we dry them cut into pieces!
- Wait 10 minutes for the beans to boil and then add the prepared vegetables to the pan – onions, carrots, celery and peppers. I let it boil for another 30 minutes. Periodically stir with a wooden spoon, checking if the beans are cooked – I press the beans with the spoon against the wall of the pot and when the beans are easily crushed, they are cooked well.
- I wash the tomatoes, peel them and cut them into small pieces. Add to the pan when the beans are cooked. I weigh the spices – coriander, cumin, cardamom and fennel, add them together with the chopped tomatoes in the pot. I let it cook for another 15 minutes.
- Wash the fresh mint leaves and chop them finely. There are fresh spices in our garden all year round, because our winter is mild and there is rarely snow. Bean soup is delicious with added dried mint!
- When the beans and vegetables are cooked, turn off the heat and set the pan aside. Add salt, chopped fresh mint leaves and the amount of olive oil. Stir well and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Serve the warm bean soup in bowls and serve with a salad of chopped sauerkraut.
NOTES
- Nutritional value per 100 g. product:
- Energy value – 75.61 kcal.
- Protein – 3.96 g.
- Carbohydrates – 9.10 g.
- Fat – 1.68 g.
- Fiber – 3.33 g.