White Bean Soup (Weiβe Bohnensuppe)
Ingredients:
- 600 g (21.16 oz) of dried white beans
- 1 ½ l (1.58 quarts) of cold water
- 150 g (5.29 oz) of diced celery stalks
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of diced carrots
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of diced vidalia onions
- 200 g (7.05 oz) of black forest bacon (OR)your choice of bacon
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 2 cubes of Knorr Beef Bouillon (OR) Korr Vegetable Bouillon
- 3–4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
- Leaves from 2–3 stems of fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
Preparation:
Start by washing the beans and placing them in a bowl. Fill the bowl with the water and let it soak overnight. (The beans should be covered with the water). Heat up the oil in a large saucepan. Add the diced bacon to it. When the fat starts to melt, add in the diced onions and diced cloves of garlic. Fry until the ingredients turn a light golden color. Next, add in the tomato paste and mix. Pour in the beans with the water. The water should be about an inch above the beans. (NOTE: The water used to soak the beans will be less because of absorption.)
Wash the thyme and add its leaves to the soup. (The easiest way to separate the leaves from the stem is by striping them from top to bottom—going against the grain.) Crumble the bouillon cubes and add it to the soup along with the paprika. Mix all the ingredients together. Cover the saucepan and let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours on medium high. Make sure to check on the soup from time to time and fill it up with water, if necessary. The beans should always be submerged in water. In the meantime, peel the carrots and cut them in thin slices. Wash the celery stalks and dice them.
After 1 1/2 hours cooking time, add the diced carrots and celery to the soup. Cook for another 30 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to your liking. If you would like, the soup can be served with some cooked sausages and served with a side of bread. DONE! (For a smaller portion, you can easily divide the recipe and only use half the ingredients.)
