Chard soup with white beans and tomatoes

Preparation of beans:

- soak the beans overnight, dry them from moisture before cooking;
- divide the onion lengthwise into 4 parts, crush the garlic;
- put beans in a saucepan, add onion quarters and crushed garlic, bay leaf and salt;
- pour water over the beans in a saucepan for 4 cm;
- cook the beans after boiling over low heat for 35-45 minutes until soft;
- remove the beans from the broth and dry, leave the broth for further use.

Soup preparation:

- in a deep and wide frying pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over a sufficiently high heat;
- put tomatoes in a frying pan, add salt and cook without turning over for about 5 minutes;
- then crush the tomatoes and mix and cook for another 5 minutes, put on a plate;
- heat another 40 ml of oil in the same pan;
- put chopped onion, fennel, garlic in a frying pan and season with dried chopped chili pepper;
- cook vegetables, stirring constantly, until soft and light blush;
- now pour the cooked tomatoes and vinegar into the onion with fennel, mix well;
- pour the dried beans into the pan after cooking and immediately pour all the vegetable broth, and adjust the missing amount of liquid, if necessary, with a decoction of beans;
- add salt and pepper to taste and cook for 30-45 minutes on low heat;
- meanwhile, remove the cuttings from the chard, and mash the thick vein well;
- shortly before the soup is ready, add the torn or chopped chard leaves and mix.

Serve the finished dish hot together with toasted almonds drizzled with olive oil. It also tastes good and chilled.

Bon appetit!