Chili Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• a pinch of pepper
• 5 - 6 peeled tomatoes
• 1/2 litre vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans, drained

Method

Heat the oil; add the onion, carrot, garlic and peppers. Add the spices, the tomatoes and the stock. Simmer for 50 minutes. Add the kidney beans. Remove the bay leaf, and serve hot. For a more homogeneous, thicker effect, cream half the soup in a blender and add this to the other half of the soup. Heat and serve.

Serves 6.