Borlotti soup with focaccia bread
This soup is a delicious and easy winter warmer that is very popular in our family! Serve with homemade focaccia for a lovely lunch with friends!
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 4 rashers of streaky bacon
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1.25l of chicken stock
- 2 400g cans of borlotti beans, drained
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of active dried yeast
- 300ml of luke warm water
- 500 grams of white flour
- 1 1/2 tsp of salt
- 2 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
- Fresh rosemary
- Marlborough Flaky Sea Salt
- Olive oil for brushing
Method
Bread:
- Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm water. Add the flour, salt and oil and knead until smooth.
- Let it rise in a bowl covered with a tea towel for 1 hour.
- Flatten with a rolling pin to cover a lightly oiled oven tray. Cover with a plastic bag and leave for an hour to rise.
- Once risen brush the focaccia generously with the olive oil, sprinkle over the flaky salt and rosemary.
- Make holes about 5 cm apart in the dough with your fingers.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the oven at 225 degrees.
Soup:
- Fry the bacon, carrot, leek and rosemary over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and fry for a further minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Whizz the lot roughly with a stick mixer.
- Add the borlotti beans, mix well and then remove 2 cups of the soup and whizz it smooth.
- Return to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Season well with salt and pepper.