Invisible Bean Soup

This soup is really neat as it has heaps of healthy beans in it and nobody realizes it.  Our son Jeremy dislikes beans, except for baked beans in tomato sauce, but he cheerfully eats this yummy thick soup. 

We really should be eating lots of beans because of the wonderful nutrients they contain. Beans are a great source of protein, fibre and the essential amino acid lysine.  They help protect us from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and maybe even some cancers.

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To convert any of these ingredients into US measurements please use this Quantity Conversion Chart.

Ingredients:

2 carrots, diced small
2 onions, diced small
2 sticks of celery, diced small
2 cloves of garlic (you guessed it - diced small !)
2 teaspoons oil
2 large cans of white beans such as cannelini, butter beans or chickpeas.
1 cup of cold water
3 cups of boiling water
4 teaspoons of stock powder
1/3 cup of tiny pasta

Method:

Fry carrots, onion, celery and garlic in oil for about 10 minutes until softened. 

Blend (or process) the beans in the cold water.  Add this to the carrots and onion mixture.

Add the boiling water and the stock powder.  Cook for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 5 - 6 minutes.

Serves 6.

Notes:

Any little pasta will do for this recipe.  Something like alphabets or tiny stars is ideal.  If you have to use slightly larger pasta then increase the cooking time for the last part of the recipe.  Remember pasta will stick to the bottom of the pan so be a vigilant stirrer.

Food Facts:

Celery was once grown primarily for medicinal reasons, particularly by the Chinese.  It has been prominent in Northern European cuisine since the 16th century. It is said that it takes more calories to eat and digest celery than there is in the celery. It is related to carrots, parsley  and parsnips.  Celery is high in vitamin C and potassium.