Autumn is in the air and its almost time for hearty soups. I found this recipe in Mum’s newer cookbook (i.e. the 1983 one) and thought I would spice it up a little with some Basil Essential Oil and chilli!

You will need:

2 cups of mixed dried beans

2 x 8 cups of hot water (one lot for soaking, one lot for cooking!)

1 large onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

2-3 carrots diced

4 sticks celery with leaves, chopped

Olive oil for frying

2 tins chopped tomatoes 

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

 A splash of red wine (Optional)

Salt and Pepper to season

Handful each of parsley and basil.

1 drop of Basil Essential Oil (Be careful not to put too much in. This is a strong oil.)

Chilli flakes. 

Method:

Wash beans. Cover them with hot water.

Leave for two hours then drain and discard the water. In a large saucepan, fry onion, garlic, carrots and celery over a low – medium heat for about 5 minutes in a little olive oil.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine (if using) and chilli flakes.

Cover and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add beans and another 8 cups of hot water. 

Cover the saucepan to bring the soup to the boil.

Simmer, partially covered on a low heat for 2 hours.

Beans should be tender. 

Add parsley and basil, seasoning and drop of Basil Essential Oil. 

Note: You could just buy some canned beans and mix them together. This means no soaking time and cooking time reduced to 30-40 minutes. You will also only need a total of 8 cups of water as you won’t be soaking the beans. This is much more appealing for a Sunday night dinner!

Most soup recipes suggest that you eat some crusty bread as an accompaniment. If you are looking for something a little different why not try my Mum’s Cheese Sauce Scones? Or if you want to avoid the carbs, add a handful of Quinoa to the soup while its simmering. This will thicken it up nicely and also increase the protein content of the soup.

I made this soup today and as usual, didn’t check that I had all the right ingredients so added in some lentils, eggplant and fresh tomatoes. We are actually going to eat it with a gourmet pizza cooked on our BBQ. Check this out on our Recipe page.

Enjoy!

We hope you will also join us at Helpful by Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.

If you are ready to enter the world of essential oils and you decide to go the doTERRA way, I would love to help you get started and support you if you want some help. Here is how you can do this: go to my doTERRA website to find out about the range of oil and oil based products available for purchase. You can also sign up to become a member on this site. Once signed up you can purchase oils for wholesale prices! But if you would like some more information click on the Contact Me on the doTERRA website and I will respond to your questions.

 

Until next time,

Gillian (and Andrew)