Navy Bean Tomato Vegetable Soup

You know how much we love soup here, and this one features our new Flourist Navy Beans from H&M Farms in Altona, Manitoba. This hearty soup has maximum flavour from one of our favourite spices, dill. If you aren't a dill lover, we think this soup will change your mind, but a good substitution would be basil. 

Navy Bean Tomato Vegetable Soup
2 cups cooked Flourist Navy Beans
4 tbsp olive oil 
1 large leek, thoroughly cleaned and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp salt
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
398 ml can diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
4 cups water or vegetable broth
3 tbsp honey, or other sweetener 
1 tbsp dried dill
2 cups green kale, minced
Optional garnishes of olive oil, fresh dill or parsley, crumbled feta (or a vegan substitute), and plenty of black pepper

To cook our Flourist Navy Beans, soak for 6-24* hours in plenty of cold water. When ready to cook, drain and rinse in a colander with cold water. Transfer the soaked beans to a pot and cover with at least 6 inches of cold water. Bring to boil on high heat, and once boiling turn heat to maintain a gentle rolling boil until the beans are soft, roughly 35-40 minutes. Drain, rinse well with cold water and use as desired. 

*Soaking time is very flexible, but it is best not to exceed 24 hours for these beans. 

To prepare the vegetables, simply rinse and cut the leek in half. Separate the layers roughly with your hands and chop the leek pieces horizontally into pieces. To clean the pieces, place them in a large bowl and cover them with water, putting your hands in the bowl to agitate the layers and loosen any dirt that may be stuck in the leek. Skim the leek pieces out of the water and place into a colander. Repeat this again until the rinse water no longer shows signs of dirt.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, carrots and all the salt and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until the moisture from the leeks starts to escape. Add the minced garlic (if using) and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the mixture is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic!

Next, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, water and dill and mix until the paste is fully dissolved. Cover the pot and turn the heat up to bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the veggies to cook about 15 minutes, until just soft.

Next, add the honey and cooked Flourist Navy Beans and stir to incorporate. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes. For a creamy soup, puree about 2/3 of the mixture in a blender or in a separate pot with a hand blender, leaving 1/3 of the soup chunky. If blended well, this soup will be silky and creamy dreamy. Combine the two back together and add the minced kale. Continue to cook on low heat on low to allow all the flavours to mingle for a final few minutes and to wilt the kale.

Ladle into large cups or soup bowls and enjoy drizzled with additional olive oil or topped with a pat of butter. This soup loves extra fresh herbs or even a chunk or two of feta or parmesan cheese on top. 

*Store cooked beans for future use in the fridge in a container with plenty of cold water to cover. Stored this way, your beans will stay fresh for up to a week (you may wish to change the water once or twice, rinsing the beans in between as well).