Fasolada

Recipe Type:	Veg.
Difficulty:	Average

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup haricot beans soaked in 3 cups water
• 1 Carrot, chopped
• 250 ml Tomato puree
• 1/2 Red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 Large zucchini, finely chopped
• 3 Celery, finely chopped
• 1 Large onion, chopped
• 5 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 Cup parsley, chopped
• 1 Cup cabbage, shredded
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 2 Massel vegetable stock cubes and black pepper
• 2.5 Liters cold water
• 1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

• Soak beans overnight in 3 cups water and rinse beans after soaking, do not re-use the soaking water.
• Place the beans in cold water and put over low flame in the pot and simmer.
• Chop all the vegetables properly.
• Place celery, carrot, onion, zucchini, capsicum and cabbage in the pot.
• Simmer soup for about 30 minutes, and then add tomato, parsley, garlic, pepper and stock cubes to it.
• Stock cubes and tomato are added towards the end of the cooking because these tend to toughen the beans.
• Simmer for a further 2 hours or till beans are tender.
• Combine olive oil and oregano with it at the end of cooking to the pot or drizzle olive oil on the surface of the soup once served in the bowls.
• If the soup is too chunky or too watery, blend the soup with a hand blender for a couple of seconds to thicken it.