The other night, I felt like eating some kind of white bean soup. I
had some hazelnuts on hand, and a large stock of rubbed sage (it was
on sale), and both of those seemed like they'd go well. It turned out
very well, hearty but with a lightness of flavor from the herbs, so I
though I'd share.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 med onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small green bell pepper, diced (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup frozen peas

2 tbsp dried sage (rubbed works well)
OR
1 tsp fresh sage, minced, plus some reserved leaves
pinch of lavender flowers
1 can white beans (they all work), drained and rinsed
water + veggie bouillon cube, or veggie stock (I used a veg
"chicken" bouillon cube)

black pepper to taste

Method:
1) Heat the oil over medium heat, and add the nuts, stirring often.
2) Once they start to turn color, add the garlic, bell pepper,
onions, and peas.
3) When the onions soften and start to sweat, add the sage,
lavender, beans, and liquid.
4) Simmer till the volume reduces by a third, and the liquid is
milky.
5) Add black pepper to taste.
6) Garnish with reserved sage leaves.

Serves one if hungry, two otherwise. I expect the quantities of
ingredients will need to scale nonlinearly, if changing portions.


Variations:
* Sauteing more veggies would work well: (especially) carrots,
parsnips, celery, and other canonical "mirepoix" vegetables would be
obvious choices.
* Spinach or other greens would also go very well in this soup.
* Pureeing and adding back a portion of the soup might be nice.
* The lavender complements the flavor of the sage really nicely, but
can be omitted.


Enjoy!
N.