Bean soup

I like beans. I like to grow them, and I like to eat them. This recipe is from David Tanis's A platter of figs and other recipes. I really like this cookbook for it's inspirational powers. Hopefully I can transfer some of them to you with this recipe!

The recipe in the book is for enough to serve 8-10 people. I divided it by 4 to yield enough soup for 4 as a side dish, or for one who really has a gassy death wish for work the next morning. You need a cup of dry beans, a couple of bay leaves, some rosemary and olive oil (for the rosemary olive oil garnish), a couple of slices of bacon, an onion, some garlic cloves, a teaspoon of fennel seeds (key, and awesome!), and a pinch of red pepper flakes. You'll also need some chicken stock and/or water to fill your saucepan (about 3 cups total).

First step is to chop your onions and garlic.

Second step is to pour a great beer!

Then chop your bacon into little bits. Fry it in your saucepan to release the fat and then add your onions, garlic, and bay leaves. One little mentioned fact about cooking is that a lot of the flavours we like are oils -- like the oil in bay leaves that gives them that wonderful scent. If you remember from chemistry class, "like dissolves like" which means oils dissolve in oils. So...if you want to get those flavours out of your spices and into your food, then add them at a stage when the flavors have a chance to get extracted into an oil and stay in your finished dish -- like now!

Once your onions have softened, you can add the dry beans (I hope you gave them a quick rinse and checked for stones etc. first!). Give them a quick stir and then fill the pot with chicken stock and/or water.

This lovely mixture can now simmer, covered, for an hour. (Hey, it's awesome, it's supposed to take a while!)

While the soup is cooking, you can grind your fennel seeds. These taste like licorice and add a great flavour to the soup.

Add the ground fennel and your pinch of chili flakes (I used Aleppo pepper) and let is simmer, covered, for another hour (hey, it will be really good, trust me!)

While the last hour of simmering is happening, you can prepare the rosemary oil. Chop a couple of tablespoons of fresh rosemary (you should be growing this!) ...

...and add it to 1/4 cup of olive oil. Warm this on low for while, and then let it steep until you are ready to serve the soup. (I was baking something at the same time, so I just set the pot over the element that doubles as the oven vent -- it warmed up just fine.)

Spoon the soup into nice bowls, add a teaspoon of rosemary oil, and enjoy!!
(Tanis recommends making the soup the day before you need it and then re-heating. The upshot of this advice is that this makes great leftovers too!)