Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb. 15 bean soup mix
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 carrots
• 3 ribs celery
• 6 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• To taste salt
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. The night before, pour the beans into a large bowl and add cool water, using about twice the volume of water as beans. Move the bowl to the refrigerator and let the beans soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
2. When you’re ready to cook, tip the beans into a colander, drain them, and rinse them well with fresh water. Set them aside so they can start losing their chill.
3. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Add both to a large soup pot with the coconut oil, then cook over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
4. While that’s going, dice the celery and carrot. Once the onion has softened, add the carrot and celery to the pot and keep cooking for about 5 minutes more, just until the celery begins to soften.
5. Add the beans and 6 cups of water to the pot, and give everything a stir. Cover the pot, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling steadily, lower the heat to low or medium-low and simmer the beans for 90 minutes, stirring now and then.
6. After 90 minutes, the beans should be very soft and breaking down a little, with the water looking lightly thickened and cloudy. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and parsley. Stir everything together, then simmer the soup for another 20 minutes.
7. Taste the soup, then add salt as needed (I added 1.5 tsp). Stir in the apple cider vinegar at the end. If the soup sits in the refrigerator, the beans may soak up some of the salt and make the flavor seem quieter, so you may want to add more salt the next day.