I’ve been missing Provence lately.  My longing comes and goes like the lament of a lost love.  So tonight, I decided to prepare a traditional Provencal-style Tomato-Bean Soup.

Ingredients:
• 4 oz Northern beans
• 4 oz Yellow Peas
• Herbs de Provence
• 1 teaspoon Sun dried tomatoes, minced
• 1  16 oz can of Italian tomatoes
• 2 large chicken breast — small dice
• 40oz chicken stock
• 2 carrots, brunoised
• 2 celery stalks, brunoised
• 1 turnip, brunoised
• 1 small celery root, burnoised
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion minced

Method:
• Soak the beans and peas overnight, drain and rinse
• Cut all the veggies in advance
• In a large stock pot, sauté the veggies in olive oil, season with salt and pepper
•  Once they begin to soften, add the beans and continue to sauté for about 2 minutes
• Add the tomatoes and the herbs and stir constantly until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken
• Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil
• Once it reaches a full boil, drop the heat until it reaches a slow simmer
• While the beans are cooking, dice your chicken breast and salt the pieces
• After the first 45 minutes of cooking, add the chicken to the soup and continue cooking on low heat for another hour – or until beans are completely soft.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste, serve with crusty bread.