Vegan vegetable bean soup - sort of

Ok, this is VERY close to being a vegan soup, and it's the easiest thing in the world to making it pristinely vegan ("pristinely vegan?" What in the world has gotten into Annalena?). Hang in there with me. It's better with the non vegan trick, but if you don't want to use it, Annalena has a trick up her sleeve (rather than up her dress, but we won't go there).
When it gets late in the year - like now - regardless of how warm a particular day MAY be, there have been many cold ones before that, and as a result, it may be difficult to find the vegetables you found two weeks ago. And when the day is warm, you tend to forget that you had that cold weather, and getting a grip on the fact that they ain't there no mo' is frustrating. So, for when that happens, Annalena has an old reliable terrific bean soup recipe that she will share with you, because she loves you all so much.

She really does. Truly. It's her alter egos that sometimes have problems with people. But Annalena? Truly one of the world's saints if she says so herself.

Ok, so here's how you do it. It does take some planning, because Annalena does not use canned beans. Like Amy Winehouse said about rehab "no, no no." So the day before you want to make your soup, measure out 2 cups of dried beans, and put them in a pot and cover them with a ridiculously large amount of water. Cover them if your kitchen is subject to falling debris, kamikaze roaches, or other assaults on your work. Don't cook them. what you're cooking to do is rehydrate them, and it takes a while. I prefer using the white beans like cannelinis, or flageolets, for this soup, so that the color is nice, but use what you like. Black beans are good, but I am not a fan of kidney beans, (quote Amy Winehouse again).

Now, the day you plan to make the soup, drain those beans. Then, put them back in the pot, and cover them with yet another ridiculously large amount of water (don't use the old water: it's got nasties in it from the beans, and it will stink up your kitchen and force you to find out who your real friends are when you eat this. If you are going completely vegan , add a chipotle chili, or a sprig of rosemary to this. Then bring the pot to a low boil, and cook the beans until they are al dente. This could take anywhere from 20 minutes, to an hour. If you are using frozen, or fresh shell beans that have not been dried, it will take precious little time. If you're using the beans your mom gave you when you moved into your apartment fifteen years ago, it's going to take a while.

While they are cooking, slice up a cup of carrots. If the carrots are small, coins are good. If the carrots look like you could beat someone to death with them, use half moons. And also cut up a cup of some member of the onion family: leeks, onions, scallions, something like that. Two cups of potatoes, please, and this time, use the pink or red boiling ones. Peel them if you like, don't if you don't. If you want to, you can add a cup or so of a chopped green vegetable, preferably something somewhat sturdy, like green beans.

When your shell or dried beans are done, drain them and put them to the side. Dry out that pot, coat the bottom with olive oil, and add all those sliced vegetables. Turn them in the oil, add a few teaspoons of salt and then cover the whole mess with about 2 quarts of water and let it cook away for about fifteen minutes. Then, add 2/3 of the beans, and - now here's where we spoil the vegan quality - a three inch piece of the rind from parmesan cheese.

This is the dirty little secret of Italian vegetable soup making. That rind is going to add so much more flavor, you are going to thank Annalena forever for this little trick.

Anyway, let the whole pot of soup cook for another fifteen minutes or so. Take the remaining beans, put them in a blender, and add a generous cup of that soup liquid to the blender. Puree the beans, and then dump everything back into the soup pot. Stir it, and then taste the seasonings. I bet you'll need more salt. Black pepper is also good. When you serve it, you may also want to float some olive oil on it. You could, if you like, toss some pesto or some tomato sauce in here as well. It will change the overall ambience of the soup, but that's ok. It's your soup, not mine, remember?

This is one of those soups that I URGE you to try. It's inexpensive, it's tasty, it's healthy, and you can adapt it, all year long. Ain't nothing wrong with a low fat, high fiber bean soup.