"mediterranean" Bean Soup

We give our hand to every man that loves the Lord Jesus Christ, be he what he may or who he may. The doctrine of election, like the great act of election itself, is intended to divide, not between Israel and Israel, but between Israel and the Egyptians, not between saint and saint, but between saints and children of the world. A man may be evidently of God’s chosen family, and yet though elected, may not believe in the doctrine of election. I hold that there are many savingly called, who do not believe in effectual calling, and that there are a great many who persevere to the end, who do not believe the doctrine of final perseverance. We do hope the hearts of many are a great deal better than their heads. We do not set their fallacies down to any willful opposition to the truth as it is in Jesus but simply to an error in their judgments, which we pray God to correct. We hope that if they think us mistaken too, they will reciprocate the same Christian courtesy; and when we meet around the cross, we hope that we shall ever feel that we are one in Christ Jesus.

C.H. Spurgeon

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains	Italian		8	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	T	Extra-virgin olive oil, 1
		to 2
1		Onion, coarsely chopped
2		Carrots, peeled and chopped
1		Garlic clove, crushed
2	c	Dried beans, soaked &
		drained
8	c	Boiling water, 8 to 10
1	T	Fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon
		dried
1		Bay leaves
1/4	c	Italian parsley, plus more
		for garnish chopped
		Salt, to taste
		Freshly ground black
		pepper to taste
		Croutons for, optional
		for garnish
		Green olive oil, optional
		for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

In heavy 3-quart stockpot or soup kettle heat extra-virgin olive oil;
saute onion, carrots and garlic until vegetables are soft but not
browned, 10-15 minutes.  Add drained beans and boiling water to
stockpot; add thyme, bay leaves and parsley.  Cover and cook over low
heat, adding boiling water occasionally if necessary, 1 1/2 - 3 hours
or until beans are soft (cooking time varies with age of beans).  When
beans are soft add salt and pepper.  For thicker soup remove about 1
1/2 cups of beans, puree in food  processor or blender, and return to
pot. For thinner soup add hot  water (or crushed canned tomatoes with
juices). Correct seasonings.  Transfer soup to tureen or individual
bowls. Garnish with chopped  parsley or croutons and drizzle with a
good green olive oil. Makes 8  servings.  Notes:  This recipe can be
adapted to almost any kind of bean  (cannellini, Great Northern,
anasazi, pinto, pinquito, etc. are all  possibilities). From an article
on the Mediterranean diet in the  March-April 1995 issue of Modern
Maturity magazine. Uploaded to the  CompuServe Cooks Library on 5/13/96
by Lon Hall. Posted to MC-Recipe  Digest V1 #216  Date: 24 Aug 96
13:22:29 EDT  From: Paul & Terri Law <103366.1520@CompuServe.COM>

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 360 Calories From Fat: 241 Total Fat: 26.7g Cholesterol: 79.5mg Sodium: 192.8mg Potassium: 401.9mg Carbohydrates: 8.3g Fiber: 2.4g Sugar: 4.5g Protein: 21.4g