Tomato soup is good food. Healthy for you and easy to make! Here is one of my favorite tomato soup recipe that is also a good alternative for minestrone soup — for those times when you want a change of pace.

Serving size: four to six people

Time to make: Expect one and a half hours, not including the time to soak it.

What you’ll need: large soup pan (stock pot works too); colander, large bowel, wooden spoon

The ingredients:

>> one pound of tomatoes; alternative is two cans of chopped tomatoes
>> one chopped medium onion
>> four peeled cloves of garlic
>> ten sage leaves; alternative is one teaspoon of dried sage
>> five branches of thyme; alternative is one quarter teaspoon of thyme
>> two bay leaves
>> half a cup of dry white beans; wash and soak them for around 9 hours
>> three tablespoons of olive oil
>> one teaspoon of salt
>> eight and a half cup of water

How to mix the ingredients:

Drain and rinse the beans. Then put them in your pot along with the water, five sage leaves, two bay leaves, thyme, three cloves of garlic, and one tablespoon of olive oil. Bring the pot to a boil then add half a teaspoon of salt. Lower the heat and simmer for about an hour or until beans are just tender.

Next, set the colander over your bowl. Strain the beans and remove the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Set both the cooking water and beans aside.

Heat the remaining oil. Chop and mince the last garlic clove. Add to the pot along with the remaining sage and bay leaf. Sauté for around a minute or two. Add onion and cook making sure to stir frequently for eight to ten minutes or until soft.

Add the tomatoes, cooking liquid, and the remaining salt. Bring to a boil, and simmer for twenty minutes. Then add the white beans and cook another ten minutes.

How to serve:

You can serve this tomato soup either hot or cold. If you refrigerate it in an airtight container, you will find that the flavor actually improves over the next day or two.

Enjoy!

Be sure and comment on this recipe.