Spicy bean & bacon soup

This soup ain’t pretty.  In fact I almost gave up on this post altogether.  But what this soup lacks in good looks it makes up for in flavour, so here I present my Spicy Bean & Bacon Soup in all it’s unattractive glory. 

If you’re not a fan of artichoke hearts or have never tried them, give them a chance.  You might be pleasantly surprised!

PS. My apologies to my (few) readers who have been waiting patiently for this long overdue post.  I’m having a blog dilemma and still can’t decide if this has taken my recipe fascination from happy hobby to blog burden.  Stay with me – I’m getting back on track!

 

Spicy Bean & Bacon Soup

Preparation time: less than 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 brown onion, chopped
4 bacon rashers or 8 short-cut rashers, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
440g can artichoke hearts, quartered
440g can crushed tomatoes
440g can cannellini beans, drained
1/3 cup sundried tomato pesto
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced chilli (or to taste)
Celery tops (approx. 1/2 cup)
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
Fry bacon, onion and garlic in large saucepan until onion is soft.  Add pesto and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add carrot and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.  Add tinned tomatoes, artichokes, cannellini beans, celery tops and chilli.  Refill empty tomato can with water and add to soup.  Continue to add water until soup is desired consistency.  (I like my soup chunky so I only added 2 cans of water). Bring to the boil then reduce and simmer for 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Tips
The celery tops have a strong flavour, so don’t get too excited when adding them to the pot.