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Boontjiesop

A bean soup with white beans, leeks, root vegetables, tomatoes, green chilli, garlic, bay leaf, and salt.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Boontjiesop

Time¾–1 hour simmer

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beans

  1. Soak beans overnight in plenty of cold water to cover.

  2. Drain the beans.

  3. Put the beans into a large heavy-based saucepan.

  4. Add the measured amount of cold water for cooking.

  5. Bring the mixture to the boil.

  6. Boil briskly, uncovered, for 10 minutes to prevent the possibility of food poisoning.

Prepare the leeks

  1. Top and tail leeks leaving on about 10 cm (4 inches) of green skirt.

  2. Slit the leeks lengthwise.

  3. Wash the leeks thoroughly under running warm water.

  4. Thickly slice the leeks.

Cook and serve

  1. Add the leeks to the pan of beans with all remaining ingredients except salt.

  2. Bring the soup to the boil.

  3. Lower the heat and cover tightly.

  4. Simmer for ¾–1 hour until the beans are soft.

  5. Remove the bay leaf.

  6. Season with salt.

  7. Serve hot.

  8. Add a lamb bone to improve flavour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

144Calories
5 gProtein
1 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Turnip1 medium (122g)34
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Leek + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,310 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Beans + leektop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together51 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Leek + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together150 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White beans
Provide the bulk of the soup and thicken it as their starch softens during simmering.
Leeks
Add sweet, mild onion flavour that deepens during the long simmer.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and body, breaking down to give the broth more flavour.
Carrots, turnip, celery and onions
Contribute sweetness, aroma and body as they soften in the broth.

The step that matters

Boil briskly for 10 minutes before simmering. Dried beans contain lectins that are destroyed only by a rapid, sustained boil; a gentle simmer alone does not make them safe, so this step must not be shortened or skipped.

Swap the clove

The recipe marks clove as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, leek, carrot, tomato, garlic):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Celeryfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, leek, carrot, tomato, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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