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Tomato and Bean Soup with Harissa and Honey
Ingredients
  • 2 oz. olive oil
  • 1 leek well-washed and finely-chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 t. ground cumin
  • 1-2 t. good-quality harissa paste the original recipe called for 3 t. Be careful here!
  • 1-2 t. honey or more, to your taste
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 pound of Rancho Gordo Marcella beans or other dried cannelini beans
  • 14 oz. chopped Italian tomatoes
  • 24 oz. vegetable stock or more
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 1/4 t. freshly-ground black pepper
  • 2 1/2 oz. chard leaves stems removed--about two big handfuls
  • 2 cold hard-boiled eggs coarsely grated
  • extra-virgin olive oil to serve
  • 2 T. shredded cilantro to garnish
  • Grated cheese Asiago or Parmesan to garnish
  • 1-2 T. salted baby capers well-rinsed (optional--I omitted them)
Instructions
  1. Soak your dried beans overnight and then cook them covered in water until they are al dente. (I used my Instant Pot.)
  2. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté leek over low heat for 8-10 minutes. When cooked, the leek should be soft and translucent. Add the garlic, cumin, harissa, honey and thyme to the pot and cook until the leeks are well-coated with all the ingredients and the spices are aromatic. This will take only a few minutes.
  3. Add the cooked beans, tomatoes, vegetable stock, salt and pepper to the pot, stir to combine and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes. Add more vegetable broth to get the right consistency for your soup and to moderate the heat of the harissa.
  4. While the soup is simmering, shred the chad leaves. Add the shreds of chard leaves to the soup pot and simmer for another 5-8 minutes until the chard is wilted.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into large soup bowls and garnish with eggs, chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of the best olive oil you have in your kitchen.
  6. Alternatively, put a slice of grilled sourdough bread in the bottom of a large soup bowl and ladle the soup over the bread and then garnish.