Stewed White Beans with Tomatoes and Rosemary

This is a really delicious Martha Stewart recipe. I followed the instructions fairly closely, though I did add some cooked quartered red potatoes and extra carrots to the second half of the cooking for a larger veggie impact. This stew gets even thicker and tastier the next day. Serve it with some lovely crusty bread.

1 pound of dried white beans
1 onion, 1 half finely chopped
1 carrot, cut into a large dice
1 celery stalk, cut into a large dice
1 dried bay leaf
1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes , with juice
2 tablespoon good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 sprig rosemary
salt and pepper

Soak beans in water overnight. Drain, and transfer to a large pot. Cover beans with 4 inches of water. Add the intact half of the onion, the carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender but not bursting, about 1 hour. Drain, and remove onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf; discard.

Pulse tomatoes, with juice, in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Heat oil in a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, the garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until onion and garlic are tender but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and rosemary. Bring to a boil.

Add beans, and simmer stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm, drizzled with olive oil.