Mixed Bean & Chorizo Soup

It’s a chilly misty morning on the farm, so I’ve decided to take a break from my research into oppression under the Ceaucescu regime in the 1980s (for Amelia Wilde & the Shocking Sins of the Mother-in-Law) to make some soup – after all, if an army marches on its stomach, a writer’s output is only as good as the balanced contents of his stomach. To be honest, though, the wood-burning stove in the Book Shed isn’t going yet and I need an excuse to stay in the kitchen by the Rayburn…

I put some dried mixed beans in soak last night & they’re now simmering on the hob. I can almost taste the warming sustenance of this Mixed Bean & Chorizo Soup that’ll be ready for lunch time. It really is easy and if, like me, you’ve got a range cooker that’s on all the time, it makes good use of the oven & hob that would otherwise not be used much during the day.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried mixed beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 onions

handful of mushrooms

1 red chilli

Chorizo (chunk about 2 inches long)

500g passata (or chopped tomatoes)

I teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Marmite

I brown stock cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water

Parsley (optional)

Soak beans in cold water overnight, then rinse, cover with fresh water then bring to the boil & simmer for an hour and a half.

Chop the onions, chilli, chorizo (with skin removed) & mushrooms & fry in the oil until really well cooked. (I actually drizzle the oil over them & put them in the oven of the Rayburn for about 40 mins). Add the beans (complete with cooking liquid), passata (or chopped tomatoes), sugar (to neutralise the acid of the tomatoes), Marmite & stock, bring to the boil & simmer for at least 30 mins, preferably more than an hour. The longer it simmers, the more the flavours will develop.

Serve with chopped parsley if desired. It will go really well with Onion & Sun-dried Tomato Bread.

The soup will keep for a few days in the fridge or will freeze really well.

Right! Back to Ceaucescu…