White Bean Soup

Directions

1. 1
   Cut onion in to 1/2 inch slices. Brush olive oil (may not need to use all of the oil) onto the onion slices and also onto the whole tomatoes. Grill until charred. Let cool. Remove tomato skins, core, and roughly chop.
2. 2
   Dump all tomato and onion pieces into a large pot. Open all of the cans of white beans (do not drain the cans). Dump beans and juices into the same pot. Put on low heat. As everything is heating up, wash the basil. Tear basil into pieces and put into the pot to fuse with other ingredients. Use just about the whole bunch if you like the flavor of basil (or cut down the amount if you don't). Salt and pepper the soup to taste. Stir everything together.
3. 3
   Cook on low heat for about two hours, stirring occasionally. Speed up the cooking process by using higher heat but make sure to stir the soup more often if you do. Serve with French or Italian bread.
4. 4
   You can leave this as a vegetarian dish or add in meat of your choice. I've used ham, shredded chicken and roughly chopped spicy sausage links to give different flavors.