Two part Tuscan Soup, Beans & Bacon and Red Peppers

I love such simple, Tuscan peasant food, made for hardly any cost with anything that should be easily available, no beans? Use chickpeas. This soup has two seperate flavours that compliment each other, you'll be happy eating this with friends with a large chunk of great bread and a large vino.

For the top part - ingredients, peppers, toms, garlic, onion.

A couple of red peppers that have been sauteed with a chopped onion and a couple of ripe toms and some garlic, fry gently until really soft, (the next time I cook this I'll blacken them under the grill and remove the skin, before frying) then add a little water, continue until really soft.

Bottom part ingredients

White beans such as cannellini, bacon (lardons), garlic, rosemary, some chicken stock.

Push the bacon bits around in the frying pan until they start to release their fat, add chopped garlic and brown, add rosemary and then fry a bit until your kitchen smells fab, and someone has put their head 'round the door to ask whats cooking. Then add stock, add beans and bubble away gently for fifteen mins or so.

Serve as above with a bit of parsley, and say with a grin as you serve it,

Essere come prezzemolo

which means 'you are like Parsley, your'e in everything!'