Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes

The Boyfriend and I are moving to another city. Only in december but I'm dreading it now already. As much as I'm looking forward to living in a new place, I just find moving so unsettling. Rummaging through my kitchen cupboard the other day, I found a half-empty bag of soissons beans in a remote corner and immediately decided they had to be cooked for fear of having to pack and unpack them in a couple of months. I hear there are pulses where we are going. Apart from the beans I had some sausage that needed to be used up and that's how this meal came together. Autumn has been creeping in and this dish fits the weather perfectly.

Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes (serves 2)

• 160g of soissons beans
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 large ground meat sausage
  
• 2-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small dried chili, crumbled
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped
  

Soak the beans with the bicarbonate of soda in cold water over night. Drain and cook until soft. (I used my tried and tested pressure cooker and it took only ten minutes.) Blend the beans and the garlic with some of the cooking water until smooth. Pour back into the pan and season with salt and pepper. While the beans are cooking, prepare the topping. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and roll into small balls. Fry them in a large frying pan until nicely browned, then remove. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper, add the olive oil and heat gently. Add the celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables until just done. Add the sausage balls, tomatoes, chili and dill and correct the seasoning. Divide the soup between two plates and top with the sausage and vegetables.