Yesterday was D's swimming lesson....so I cooked. Looked in the refrigerator but just had cabbage and some brocolli....D used up all teh carrots to make a carrot cake (yet again :-)

D told me to make a curry with Borlotti beans....but a curry didn't sound very appetising...so decided to make a simple Borlotti bean soup....It is so simple to make and so quick and theresult was wonderful....

What is Borlotti bean (picked this description from the BBC website)

A variety of kidney bean, this is a large, plump bean, pinkish brown in colour with reddish brown streaks, widely used in Italian cooking. You can buy borlotti beans dried or tinned - cannellini beans make a good replacement if you can't find them. They have a sweetish flavour with a smooth creamy texture. Good for using in salads and casseroles. The dried variety needs to be soaked in cold water before cooking.

Borlotti Bean and Pasta soup

1 can borlotti bean (remove from the can and wash it to remove the slimy preservative. Optionally you can use dried beans soaked overnight in water and then pressure cooked for 2 whistles)
I can tomato puree
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cube vegetable stock in 450 ml boiling water
Crushed pepper (a teaspoon or as per taste. I prefer a bit more since I like my soup hot)
Sea Salt to taste
Sun dried tomato puree (I like the taste of sundried tomato....can be skipped)
A handfull of pasta (I used Fusili, since I did not have any other, but u can use cup shaped pasta)
3-4 table spoon of Olive oil
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Chop the onion in to small bits. Peel the garlic and crush it. In a pan, heat the oil and put in the onion. Keep sauteing it so that it does not burn. When the onion turns in to a pinkish shade, put in the garlic and keep stirring it for a minute or so.Add the tomato puree and the beans along with the vegetable stock.Add the black pepper and sea salt and let it come to a boil.Let it boil for atleast 10 - 15 minutes so that it loses its ''wateriness''.

In the mean time cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack. However drain off the water when its partially cooked (as we will cook it again later). Sprinkle some olive oil on to the drained pasta so that it does not stick.

When the beans comes to a boil, take half of it out in a food processor and pulverise to a smooth consistency. Pour it back in to the boiling bean pot and add the pasta. This bean paste will help to thicken the soup. Lastly add 3 teaspoons of sundried tomato paste and boil for a few minutes till the pasta is fully cooked.

This should be served in big bowls( with a spoon of extra virgin olive oil sprinkled on it) and can be actually served as a whole meal, since its rich in proteins and carbs.

Serve with hot garlic bread or crusty baguettes. This soup is perfect for a cold or a rainy day. Yeah, its supposed to be bloody summer here in London.....but all week it has been cold, wet and miserable.