Tuscan Bean And Bacon Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

225 g dried haricot beans
100 g dried red kidney beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
50 g rindless unsmoked bacon, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1150 ml beef stock
2 large tomatoes
100 g cheese, grated

Preparation

Soak beans in cold water overnight.
Next day, bring beans to boil and rapidly boil for 3 minutes and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute onion, carrot and bacon until onion is soft and translucent.
Add garlic, beans and stock. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer until beans are soft- about 1 hour.
Remove half the soup and blend, until smooth, using a food processor. Return to the pan.
Peel the tomatoes by cutting a cross in the bottom and covering with boiling water for 30 seconds. (The skin should slip off easily.) Cut tomatoes into quarters and de-seed. Chop the flesh and add to the soup.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
To serve: sprinkle with the cheese.