Thursday, March 12, 2009

Haricot Bean Soup

This soup is basically a thick bean puree. Haricot beans are cooked to the stage where they are soft but not disintegrated. The celery, leeks and tomato should also be very soft, so that they can easily be pushed through a sieve. An egg yolk liaison binds the soup. Recipe serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

1 cup haricot beans
5 cups water
Bouquet garni
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
4-5 sticks celery
2 leeks ( white part only) or 2 onions
3 tablespoons oil
4 large tomatoes
Salt
2 egg yolks

Method:

1. Soak beans in water to cover overnight. Cook beans in water with bouquet garni, onion and garlic until tender, about 1 hour.
2. Finely chop celery and white part of leeks or onions. Cook them in the oil until soft, but not colored. Chop tomatoes roughly, add to vegetables and saute gently for about 10 minutes.
3. Discard onion, garlic and bouquet garni from beans. Combine beans and liquid with vegetables and rub through a sieve or puree in a blender. Season with salt and bring to the boil, stirring.
4. Just before serving, take off heat and mix in egg yolks which have been combined with 2 tablespoons of hot soup. Reheat but do not allow to boil. Serve with croutons of bread fried lightly in garlic-flavored oil.