Celery and White Bean Soup with Tomato

The chorizo really makes this soup. Great to deal with a celery glut. It was fun to make the celery salt too!

• 250g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight, or 650g drained tinned beans
• 5 Tbs olive oil
• 1 large head celery with leaves - celery sliced into 1 inch pieces, leaves set aside
• 8 spring onions with green tops, sliced into 1 cm rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 500g good quality tomatoes
• 1 Tbs sweet paprika
• 2-3 fresh chorizo sausages (about 1/2 sausage per person)

1. Make some celery salt by laying out the celery leaves on a baking tray and heating in a medium-low oven. Move them around every so oft to keep them from burning.
2. When leaves are quite dry and crumbly, remove from oven and crumble with equal parts of sea salt. Set aside.
3. Drain the soaked beans and add to a saucepan, and cover with plenty of fresh water.
4. Boil for about an hour, skimming off any scum that arises during the cooking. Add any extra water needed if it boils away too quickly. Season with a bit of salt and set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add in the celery. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
6. Add the spring onions, garlic, and a good pinch of salt.
7. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be soft and beginning to caramelize.
8. Add the tomatoes and half the celery salt, and cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Drain the beans, keeping back 250 ml of the cooking liquid, and add both to the pot with the vegetable mixture.
10. Add in the paprika.
11. Bring to a low boil and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust.
12. Heat a frying pan up with a small amount of olive oil to prevent the sausage from sticking.
13. Slice the fresh chorizo into half-inch thick disks, then quarter them.
14. Fry the chorizo pieces for about 5 minutes or until cooked. They usually give off a good amount of oil - fatty, but tasty.
15. Serve the soup in bowls with the chorizo and some of its oil spooned on top.