A deceptively simple hearty and warming soup which is easy to make, is easy on the wallet, wholesome and healthy. Ingredients (serves 4): 225g of dried canellini beans 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped 1 stalk of celery, chopped 1 generous spring each of parsely, rosemary and thyme 1 bay leaf 1.2 litres of vegetable stock Juice of half a lemon Salt and pepper Method: First soak the beans in twice their volume of cold water overnight. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and soften the onions for about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook gently for about another minute just to soften it, then add the drained beans, celery, bay leaf, herbs and pepper, pour in the stock and stir well. When it reaches a gentle simmer put the lid on and leave it on a low simmer for around an hour and a half, ensuring that the beans are tender before stopping the cooking and stirring occasionaly as it cooks. We sometimes leave it longer than this (up to two hours), which results in a thicker soup - depends on how thick you like your soup! Put the lot into a blender and add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Notes: Canned beans would work fine in this recipe, but we find that going to the extra effort (which isn’t much at all) to soak the beans pays off.