Minnestrone Soup B

Minestrone Soup – serves 6 – 8
8 ozs. Dried cannelloni beans
fine sea salt
2 med. red onions, 1 quartered with roots attached and 1 roughly
chopped
3 T EVOO
3 med Yukon gold potatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 celery stalks cut crosswise into ¼ slices
2 lrg carrots, cut into ¼ inch rounds
1 two lb. Savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
1 C defrosted frozen peas or blanched fresh peas

1. Soak cannelloni beans overnight in enough cold water to cover. Drain and set aside.
2. Bring 2 qts. of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add beans and the quartered onion. Bring back to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer until beans are cooked, about 1 hour.
3. Drain beans over a bowl. Reserve beans and their cooking liquid separately. When beans are cool enough to handle, pick out and discard the onion.
4. Peel potatoes. Cut two of them into 1 inch thick slices, then cut each lice into quarters. Leave the third potato whole.
5. In a lrg pot, warm the EVOO over warm heat. Add the chopped onion, and sauté until lightly colored, about 7 min. Add the potato slices and sauté until they begin to color, about 5 min. Add tomato paste and stir to coat the potatoes with the paste. Cook for 3 min. Add celery, carrots, beans and the whole potatoes.
6. Add the bean cooking liquid to the pot, plus enough water to cover 1 inch. Raise the heat to high, and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat immediately, and cook until the whole potato is fork tender, about 15 min. Remove the whole potatoes, mash or rice it, and return it to the to, stirring it in to thicken the soup. Stir peas into the soup Season with salt and pepper.