Tuscan Wheat Berry Soup

Ingredients

• About 1 cup dry wheat berries
• 2 cups cooked pinto or white beans
• 1 small red onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 teaspoon of tomato sauce or paste
• About 1 1/2 quarts water or vegetable broth
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Rosemary and Parsley

Directions

Place half the beans in a blender with as much water as is needed to mix to a smooth homogenous liquid.  Dice the carrot, celery, herbs, and onion to a very tiny dice. Saute in a generous amount of olive oil. Once the vegetables have changed color, add tomato paste and stir frequently. After about 10 minutes, pour in the pureed and whole beans  Add salt, pepper, herbs, wheat berries and water. Cook for about an hour, occasionally adding additional water as needed.  Soup is best if once cooked, you remove it from heat and leave for at least an hour.

(Recipe from Lela Cesari Ciampoli, Italian cooking instructor)

Submitted by Simon Stump, Tucson CSA