Bean and Bacon Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound Navy Or Great Northern Dry Beans
• 8 cups Water
• 6 slices Bacon
• 4 teaspoons Butter
• ½ cups Shredded Carrots
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Celery
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Onion
• 2 cloves Minced Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Parsley
• 1 whole Bay Leaf
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Pepper
• 1 can (small 6 Oz. Can) Tomato Paste

Preparation Instructions

Put beans and water into a large saucepot. Bring to a boil and cook until tender (about two hours).

In the meantime, fry bacon until crisp, crumble and set aside. Add butter to bacon drippings in the frypan. Add carrots, celery and onions and fry until almost tender. Add minced garlic and fry until tender.

When beans are tender, add bacon, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and tomato paste to beans. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve with crusty bread.