AKA: Preferred night-before-a-race meal
My secret to a fast and fueled race??? This soup.
Now you know. The secret is out and shared for all to use. I am slowly overcoming my recipe hoarding through these posts! (And confessing that I use a lot more garlic than I've documented in the past - a direct confession to anyone I have ever gifted a binder full of my favorite recipes.) Whew! Okay. Confessions done... I feel better. Thanks for listening.
When it comes time to try this recipe, and you're at the grocery store standing in an isle systematically looking for a bag of the "12 Bean Soup Mix" with the other dried beans and think... HUH. UHHH... Jo... Is this right? There's only a "13 Bean Soup Mix"?!?!? And you WOULD be right! - at the grocery store or online, it's going to be called "13 Bean Soup Mix".
Here's why I call it "12 Bean Soup Mix":
My handsome Bret SR. sweetly asked me one evening while eating this soup, "Jo, would it be possible to NOT have the huge, ugly, dry-in-the-middle beans in this soup?"
The afore mentioned bean? A lima bean. A lot of them... So my soup has been reduced to a "12 Bean Soup Mix" and the soup (and husband) is all the happier for the requested change.
Here's why I call it "12 Bean Soup Mix":
My handsome Bret SR. sweetly asked me one evening while eating this soup, "Jo, would it be possible to NOT have the huge, ugly, dry-in-the-middle beans in this soup?"
The afore mentioned bean? A lima bean. A lot of them... So my soup has been reduced to a "12 Bean Soup Mix" and the soup (and husband) is all the happier for the requested change.
At the Davis house we've been eating through a 25 pound bag of Bob's Red Mill bag of "13 Bean Soup Mix" for a few years now. I honestly don't know that a single bag that you purchase from the grocery store would be enough. ...it might take 2 bags of the mix because you'll need 2-3 cups. I'll leave it to you to put your Smarty-Pants on and figure out exactly what you need to buy (1-2 bags of 13 Bean Soup Mix) while you're standing in the store.
As for the races (or a long workout) and this soup for a fueling meal... The times I've planned ahead and had some stored up in the freezer, or made it fresh and for the whole family the night before a race (or crazy long run) --- AMAZING!!! Always enough energy. Never a heavy stomach. It's my favorite go-to meal the night before. My only regrets have been when I DIDN'T have it.
Make it. Try it. Get in a long run the morning after and tell me if you agree!
2 1/2 - 3 cups 13 bean soup mix
--- (minus lima beans if Bret SR. will be at your table please!)
8 cups filtered or drinking water for soaking
SOAK 4-8 hours - adding water as needed
(Optional NOTE: I try to drain, rinse and add new filtered water 1/2 way through the soaking process.)
(Optional NOTE: I try to drain, rinse and add new filtered water 1/2 way through the soaking process.)
1 pound sausage (Jimmy Dean Natural OR Kroger HOT sausage)
2 Tablespoons Bertolli Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
10-12 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 stalks of celery, sliced
1 bundle (8-10 cloves) garlic, minced
1 quart chicken broth
1-2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
1 heaping teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 TABLESPOONS Better-Than-Bullion
1 30 ounce can tomato sauce
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Soak your beans 4-6 hours for best results - Use water you'd drink or cook with. Add water throughout the day as it gets soaked into your beans. (Optional NOTE: I try to drain, rinse and add new filtered water 1/2 way through the soaking process.) |
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Brown your sausage in the pot you'll be cooking your soup in. Once brown, add your diced onion with a few Tablespoons of olive oil. (My all time FAVORITE olive oil is Bertolli's extra-virgin. I've never been able to find a flavor I like more!) Add peeled, sliced carrots, next celery, and add minced garlic last. When garlic is caramelized and everything has a heavy garlic smell, add water and chicken broth; then all remaining ingredients. |
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| With everything added... do not be surprised (as you baby-sit this amazing soup!) that you'll likely need to add a few cups of water as the beans soak up more and more throughout the final simmer. Make sure to have a final taste check before serving. You may decide it needs more Kosher salt and/or pepper. |
Cook on a low simmer for 2-3 hours.
Check and stir occasionally. Add water as needed to keep it at a "soup" consistency.
Serve with cornbread or natural-yeast bread.
Amazing to freeze!!! Re-heat stovetop and add water, a spoonful of Better-Than-Bullion chicken broth, Kosher salt and pepper to taste for best flavor.
NOTE:
Soup photos were literally taken as the "night-before-race-fuel" for the 2015 Surfside Beach 1/2 Marathon and Kid's Mile. So yeah. It works. XOXO
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