Greek Style White Bean Soup

500g/1lb medium sized dry white beans
1 medium to large tomato
1 medium to large red onion
2 large carrots
6 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp salt
A few sprinkles of hot sauce
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Soak the beans beginning the night before. Make sure that the water line is about two inches above the top of the beans. This will allow the beans room to swell without absorbing all the water. The next day, drain the water and rinse the beans one time. Cover the beans by about 1-2 inches in cold water. Place on mid-high heat. Allow the beans to cook for 45 minutes at this temperature. Once the beans have cooked for 45 minutes, remove from heat and drain again. Once again, add fresh cold water, covering the beans by about 1-2 inches, depending how long you want to simmer the soup. Return the beans to the stove on mid-high heat.
As the beans are heating, chop the tomato, onion, carrots and garlic and add them to the beans. Add the bay leaf, salt, hot sauce, and olive oil and stir. Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce to simmer. Leave the pot cover slightly ajar to allow some of the steam to escape. After about 1-1.5 hours of cooking, take a spoon and mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. This will allow the starch from the beans to escape and will give the soup a creamy texture. Let the soup cook for about another hour, or until the tomatoes, onion and garlic have essentially dissolved.
If the soup gets too thick for your liking you can always add more water. Make sure to stir frequently so that the soup does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Serve with fresh bread. Great for vegetarian diets.