In a very large stockpot, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the chopped onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir often.
Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté for a few more minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add about 1 cup of chopped canned whole tomatoes, 500 grams of dried white navy beans (about 2½ cups), 2 bay leaves, 2 cups of vegetable stock, and 12 cups of water
Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and simmer for 2-2½ hours or until the white beans are tender soft and the soup begins to thicken. Stir occasionally every 30 minutes or so. If necessary, adjust the consistency of the soup by adding water.
Stir occasionally, especially during last 30 minutes.
During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add ¼ cup of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, sage, etc…).
Taste and adjust seasonings for salt and pepper.
Top off with a drizzle of olive oil and a squirt of freshly squeezed lemon juice once soup has been portioned in individual bowls.
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Notes
There is no need to soak these pulses. The addition of salt at the end of the cooking time, allows the beans to soften wonderfully.
Alwaysrinse and sort your white beans to ensure there are no impurities.
The consistency of the soup by adjusted by adding water.
Dried Navy, cannellini, great Northern or white kidney beans can be used interchangeably.
Can I use dried herbs? Either fresh or dried herbs work really well in this Mediterranean soup. To replace the ¼ cup or fresh herbs use about 1 heaping tablespoon of any combination of dried herbs. Can I use fresh tomatoes? You can easily replace the canned tomatoes in this recipe with fresh or frozen tomatoes. Can I use canned beans? You can easily substitute 500 grams of dried white navy beans (about 2½ cups) with about 3 cans (15 ounces each) of white beans, drained and rinsed. Reduce cooking time by 2 hours. Adjust seasonings. Can I soak the beans? Soaking the dry beans overnight will reduce the cooking time by approximately 1-1½ hours. Be sure to adjust the seasonings since soaked beans do not contribute the same level of taste when compared to starting the soup with dried beans. Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used. *recipe lightly adapted from an article in The Gazette