My Mother’s Comforting Bean Soup

Name: My Mother’s Comforting Bean Soup
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Bulgarian
Ingredients: a handful of rocket (arugula), optional; 1 teaspoon dried mint; ½ tablespoon chopped thyme; 400 g (14 oz) butter beans (lima beans), shop-bought or cooked; 2 teaspoons paprika; ½ tablespoon chopped parsley; 1 teaspoon coconut sugar; 1 small carrot, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon tomato purée (paste) or 3 tablespoons chopped tomatoes (it’s just for taste); olive oil, for frying; 1 small onion, finely chopped; ½ green (bell) pepper, finely chopped; pink Himalayan salt and black pepper, to taste; Super Bread or good-quality shop-bought bread, optional; 500 ml (17 fl oz / 2 cups) water

Preparation info

Serves
2

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Happy Vegan Food

By Bettina Campolucci Bordi

Published 2022

About

This soup is something I remember having when I was growing up. My grandmother was an amazing cook and passed on her skills to my mother, who in turn would make this particular soup during a Bulgarian holiday called Badni Vecher. It is a pre-Christmas tradition that has stuck with me ever since.

Ingredients

olive oil, for frying
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ green (bell) pepper, finely chopped
1

Europe
Bulgaria
Christmas
Eastern Europe
Vegan
Soup

Method

In a medium pan, heat some olive oil and fry the onion, pepper and carrot until nice and soft.

Next add in the tomato purée or tomatoes, coconut sugar, beans and all the spices and herbs and give it a good stir.

Add the water and gently simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Ladle out one helping of the bean soup into a bowl and mash the beans until you get a fine paste. Retur