Judy's white bean soup with chilli oil
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- Ready in 1¾ hours, plus overnight soaking
- Easy
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 500g dried butter bean
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 1.4l hot vegetable stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra
- chilli oil, for drizzling
Method
- STEP 1
Put all the butter beans in a large bowl and cover with plenty of cold water so they have room to swell up. Leave to soak overnight.
- STEP 2
Drain the beans. Shuck off and discard the skins by pinching the beans between finger and thumb – it’s a laborious job, but worth it. Put the beans in a colander, rinse and shake off the excess water.
- STEP 3
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Tip in the carrots and celery and fry gently for 2-3 minutes. Add the beans, stock, bay and thyme with some pepper, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, skimming off any scum, until the beans are soft. Cool for 10 minutes, discard the bay and thyme, then whizz the soup in a food processor until smooth. (You will probably have to do this in batches.)
- STEP 4
Return the soup to the rinsed pan and bring to the boil. Check for seasoning, then serve with a drizzle of chilli oil and a sprinkling of thyme leaves.