Bean Soup

I’m really fond of this, a thick and hearty winter soup if ever there were one. I use the Waitrose tins of mixed beans but you can use any old mix of beans, really: I’ve also made this just using red beans, which works beautifully too, as do aduki beans. Omit the bacon for a vegetarian soup – it’s still delicious – or replace it with half a teaspoon of smoked pimento, which is really nice.

If you have rashly decided to use a stock cube instead of a decent stock, then omit the salt and add salt to taste at the end. Stock cubes are 99.9% salt, as any fule no. Also please do note that using stock cubes invariably results in getting awful diseases such as lobsters up the arse. Just ask Jayne Mansfield...

Ingredients

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin mixed beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 100g mushroom, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 750ml chicken stock
• 50 g cooked smoked bacon or pancetta
• 1 tsp salt

Fry the onions in a little olive oil using a roomy pan over a medium heat until they start to soften, then add the bacon and fry off for a couple of minutes, stirring. Add the chopped vegetables to fry and soften slightly for five minutes, covering but also giving a quick stir now and then. Add the tomatoes and stir in well, then the stock and salt. Once everything’s settled down and is starting to bubble away, add the beans. Skim off any froth and leave it all to a lively simmer for 30 minutes. Cool, blend and then reheat to serve.