Eastern European · Lunch · Dinner
Bulgarian White Bean Soup
Боб чорба (Bob chorba)
A warming Bulgarian bean soup of tender white beans, sweet peppers and tomato, scented with paprika, dried mint and savory. It is hearty and filling, and naturally plant-based.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 65% · Fat 17% · Protein 18%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 2 cans (about 2 2/3 cups drained)480 gwhite beans, canned, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp14 gsunflower oil
- 1 large150 gonion, finely chopped
- 2 medium120 gcarrots, diced
- 1 medium120 gred bell pepper, diced
- 2 medium250 gtomatoes, grated or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic, minced
- 2 tsp5 gsweet paprika
- 1 tbspdried mint
- 1 tspdried savory
- 5 cups1,200 gwater
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper, ground
- 3 tbsp10 gfresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Steps
- 1
Drain and rinse the canned beans in a sieve.
- 2
Heat the sunflower oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- 3
Add the onion and carrots and cook gently for 6-8 minutes until softened, adding a splash of the water if they start to stick.
- 4
Stir in the red pepper and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
- 5
Take the pot off the heat briefly and stir in the paprika so it does not burn.
- 6
Return to the heat, add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
- 7
Add the beans and the water and bring to a boil.
- 8
Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- 9
Lightly mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup.
- 10
Stir in the dried mint, savory, salt and black pepper and simmer for 3 more minutes.
- 11
Taste and adjust with more mint, savory or black pepper rather than extra salt, then serve sprinkled with parsley if using.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use 1 1/3 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight and simmered until tender, instead of the canned beans for an easier-on-the-budget option.
- Swap the fresh tomatoes for 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes when good fresh ones are out of season.
- Replace the dried savory with dried thyme if you cannot find savory.
- Use olive oil or any neutral vegetable oil in place of the sunflower oil.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a covered container and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot. The soup can also be frozen for about 3 months; thaw it in the fridge and add a splash of water when reheating, as it thickens on standing.
Make ahead
Chop the onion, carrots and pepper up to a day ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. You can also make the whole soup a day in advance, since the flavours deepen overnight, then add the fresh parsley just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
No major allergens in the ingredients.
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (592 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 226 kcal | 38 kcal |
| Protein | 10.8 g | 1.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38.6 g | 6.5 g |
| of which sugars | 6.9 g | 1.2 g |
| Fiber | 9.6 g | 1.6 g |
| Fat | 4.4 g | 0.7 g |
| of which saturated | 0.6 g | 0.1 g |
| Sodium | 743 mg | 126 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
