Bean Soup

My dad loves this soup. My mom made it for him often!!! If he ate it now all the sodium would throw him into congestive heart failure..hmmmm...jk...poor grandpa

2 pepperoni's sliced thin

1 package of pea beans (rinsed and sorted from debris)

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped finely or put through a garlic press

1 t oregano

salt and pepper (easy on the salt, the pepperoni can be salty)

1 can of tomato paste (small can)

1/4 cup of olive oil

chopped basil

Put beans and pepperoni in a large soup pot. Add 16 cups of water cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for an additional 2-3 hours until the beans are cooked. Add water along the way if needed. Serve with some good bread and grated cheese.

*you can make make this a white soup and leave out the tomato paste. You could also add some cooked escarole at the end.