Vegetable Soup with Canned Red Beans

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all the ingredients for the soup. You can add the onion whole while the soup cooks, or dice it and fry it with the carrot and potato (step 9). Zucchini can be replaced with ordinary light-green summer squash. Just pick young squash with intact, tender skin so you don't have to peel it — peeled squash can cook down to mush during frying and simmering, and you want the pieces to stay whole.

2. Step 2:

   

   Score a cross on the tomatoes, scald them with boiling water, and let them sit for 2–3 minutes. Then peel off the skins.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cut the tomatoes into medium cubes. Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes in their own juice.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash the zucchini well, dry it, and cut it into medium cubes.

5. Step 5:

   

   Wash the potatoes, dry them, and cut them into small cubes.

6. Step 6:

   

   Peel the carrot. If it's small in diameter, cut it into quarter-rounds; a large carrot is better cut into small cubes. In general, all the vegetables should be cut not too large (or the soup will be awkward to eat) but not too small (or they'll overcook and you'll end up with an unintended puréed soup).

7. Step 7:

   

   Cut the celery into small slices.

8. Step 8:

   

   Peel the garlic and finely chop it with a knife.

9. Step 9:

   

   Drain the canned beans, rinse them under running water, and pat them dry.

10. Step 10:

    

    In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the potato and carrot (and the onion, if you're adding it diced). Fry, stirring, for about 8 minutes.

11. Step 11:

    

    Add the zucchini. Fry, stirring occasionally, for another 2 minutes or so.

12. Step 12:

    

    Add the tomato paste and garlic.

13. Step 13:

    

    Next, add the diced tomatoes. Stir and simmer everything together for 3–4 minutes.

14. Step 14:

    

    Pour in the water or broth. At this point you can add a peeled whole onion, if you didn't add it diced earlier. Season the soup with salt and pepper and bring it to a boil. Cook over medium heat at a moderate simmer for 15–20 minutes, until the vegetables are done.

15. Step 15:

    

    At the end, add the canned beans and heat everything together for another 5 minutes.

16. Step 16:

    

    Let the finished soup rest on the turned-off stove for 5–7 minutes, then ladle it into bowls. If you like, sprinkle the soup with chopped herbs. Enjoy!