Instructions:

Yield: 1 recipe

1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 med Onion, sliced
4 ea Garlic cloves, crushed
1 med Carrot, sliced
2 tbsp Red chiles, chopped, fresh*
1/2 tsp Thyme
2 tbsp Parsley
2 ea Bay leaves
1/2 cup Tomatoes, finely chopped
3 tsp Tomato paste
1 cup Red kidney beans, soaked
7 cup Vegetable stock
Salt & pepper
1/2 tbsp Nutritional yeast, optional+

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Stir in the onions, garlic and carrots. Cover & sweat over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the chiles and herbs, stir well & continue to cook, covered, for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste & kidney beans. Mix well, ensure that the heat is very low, & cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the stock, season with salt & pepper & bring to a boil. When at a full rolling boil, let it boil hard for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat & simmer until the beans are tender. The length of time will vary, depending upon the age of the beans, from 50 minutes, to 2 hours. When cooked, turn off the heat, stir in the nutritional yeast, if desired & let cool.

Once cool, transfer the soup, in batches, to a food processor or blender & blend until very smooth. Return to a clean pot & gently re-heat. Serve with good, home-made bread. It will also work with a good, hearty flat bread, if that's not too much of a contradiction in terms. Try a Native flat bread, for example.