Tomato Bean Soup — What the Garden Gives You in July

Mid-July. Hot. The Cherokee Purples are in heavy production and I have been eating them every day, different preparations: sliced with salt, in a sandwich, roasted in the oven with garlic and olive oil and used as a sauce for pasta, which is not Cherokee but is what you do when you have more tomatoes than any other plan can absorb. Hannah has been making a tomato and bean salad with the heritage pole beans and Cherokee Purples that is the best summer food I have eaten this year — simple, dressed only with oil and vinegar and fresh herb, the ingredients doing all the work because the ingredients are right.

Terry is spending more time in the garden this summer than she has in years. She tells me on Sunday visits that working the garden is good for her arthritis, which her doctor confirmed, which is convenient because she would be doing it anyway. She has expanded her plot — taken on the section Danny used to use for sunflowers, which he planted every year not because sunflowers are useful but because he liked them, which is the reason you plant most things that matter. She is growing more vegetables this year. I bring her seeds from my heritage stock. She has a section of Cherokee Purple seedlings that came from my plants and will go back into my seed exchange at the end of the season. The garden connects us. The seeds connect us. Everything that Danny taught about the land and the food is still alive in the ground that Terry is turning.

Caleb attended his first stomp dance with me this July. He had been going on his own with his sponsor, but this was the first one I came to with him, as he had asked me last December. We drove to the grounds outside of Tahlequah at dusk and we were there until well past midnight. I will not write at length about the ceremony because some things you do not write at length about. But I will say: I am glad I went. I am glad Caleb asked. I am glad Danny danced at these grounds when he was younger and that I am my father's son, standing on the same earth, in July, under the same stars.

Hannah’s tomato and bean salad has been on my mind all month — the way it needed nothing beyond the ingredients themselves, dressed only with oil and vinegar and herb. When I wanted to bring that same spirit to something warmer, something that could sit on the stove while the garden kept giving and the evening cooled down, I came back to this tomato bean soup. It carries the same logic: good tomatoes, good beans, heat and time doing what oil and vinegar do in the cold version. Terry’s plot is full right now, and the seeds came from this ground, and the food tastes like it.

Tomato Bean Soup

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (Cherokee Purple or heirloom preferred), roughly chopped
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
• 2 cans (15 oz each) white beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Build the base. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, celery, and carrot and cook 3 minutes more.
2. Add the tomatoes. Stir in fresh chopped tomatoes and canned tomatoes with their juices. Season with thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Let the tomatoes break down over medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add beans and broth. Pour in the drained beans and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until the soup has thickened slightly and the flavors have come together.
4. Finish with vinegar. Stir in red wine vinegar and taste for seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. The vinegar lifts the tomatoes the same way it does in a cold salad — use it.
5. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley or torn basil. Good with crusty bread or on its own.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 218 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 8g | Sodium: 390mg