Ingredients

• 1 cup white beans (dry, small)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika powder
• 500 g potatoes
• 2.5 liters chicken broth or bone broth or vegetable broth

Preparation

1. The day before making the soup, rinse beans, cover with 2 cups cold water and set on the kitchen counter to soak overnight.
2. The next day, cook beans until soft (in the water they soaked in, adding more water if needed), with the addition of fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, rinse the fennel bulb, cut into 1/2 cm slices and then into crosswise 1 cm pieces. Heat oil in a larger pot, add fennel and sauté while stirring from time to time for about 15 minutes (fennel should soften). Then add diced onion and garlic slices and sauté on moderate heat for about 30 minutes (vegetables should continue to soften, towards the end they may turn golden, they may brown lightly. Vegetables may slightly stick to the bottom, in which case we scrape them with a wooden spoon, we don't allow them to burn). At the end of sautéing, season with a pinch of salt.
4. Pour in hot broth and beans with their liquid. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 1 hour. Halfway through cooking add marjoram and chili and peeled and diced potatoes. Can be canned, soup is very good in the following days as well.