Hi Loves, Happy Tuesday! We finally have a taste of winter here in California. It’s all blustery, cold and raining cats and dogs. Literally cats and dogs at my house, because when it rains all our three dogs come inside. This also goes for the neighborhood cat Bow-Peep. It’s a little tight in here…”that’s an understatement!”
Any-who, with the rain comes the craving for good old-fashioned comfort food and for me this means Basque Soup.
I was raised in a wonderful community here in California that has the largest Basque population in the entire United States, so this soup is a soup that everyone I grew up with knows and loves. However, it’s not just soup; it’s the soup first, then you add beans, salsa and you absolutely have to eat it with fresh French bread and tons of butter.
I hope you enjoy it…let me know? Smooches xoxo
What you need:
2 Boxes of organic low sodium chicken broth
2 Cans of organic tomato sauce or one large one
1 Head of organic cabbage chopped
1 Sweet yellow onion diced and browned in olive oil
6 Organic Carrots diced
3 Organic Sweet potatoes small cubed
1 Organic Leek optional
1 teaspoon of Herbs of Provence
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Large can of organic pinto beans or two medium cans
4 Cloves of garlic
Salsa
French bread and butter
Soup:
Wash, peel, chop, cut and dice all the veggies as instructed above. In a large Dutch oven sauté diced yellow union until golden brown. Add the chicken broth, salt, pepper and herbs of Provence. Place all the prepped veggies and tomato sauce into the broth mixture and cook on medium heat for at least an hour. You can always add water if the veggies aren’t covered under liquid. Check the potato for doneness.
Beans:
In a separate pan, melt ½ Tablespoon of bacon grease…I know…yes, bacon grease, as in apple wood smoked bacon grease. I always keep bacon grease for that little extra kick of flavor. A little bit goes a long ways. Melt just enough bacon grease to coat the pan and add the chopped garlic, stirring just long enough to get the garlic aroma cooking. Add the beans and can juice, cook on medium until warmed through.
To serve:
Ladle the soup into bowls put the beans on top and then top the beans with salsa. Don’t forget to warm a loaf of French bread in foil in a 200~ oven for about 20 minutes. This is one of those soups that requires bread dipping…so, dip away and enjoy!
