I whipped up this little soup on a weeknight a couple days ago – that included taking pics, editing and all that, did I mention it was a weeknight and I didn’t get home from work until about 6pm? That’s how simple this was to put together. We brought back the most delicious bread from Butcher and Bee when we were in Charleston last weekend. At this point tho it was about 5 days old and getting a little dry, but still good. So this soup was the perfect thing for a slice of crusty bread. We are invited to a friend’s house for dinner tonight, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s always a treat to be cooked for.
Ingredients for the White Bean Soup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2 cups dried navy beans or other white beans
2 cups vegetable broth, more or less depending on your desired consistency
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
fresh ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
thick toasted slices of crusty bread
Directions
I used dry beans and prepped them the night before by soaking, then cooking until just tender. Alternatively you could use canned beans – you would need about 6 cups of canned beans.
Put the oil, rosemary and chopped garlic in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the garlic, stirring it, until it’s golden in color. Add the drained cooked or canned beans, a teaspoon of salt, and some fresh ground pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the vegetable stock – more if you like it soupy, less if you like it thick. Using an immersion blender, blend the beans for just a couple seconds, this creates a creamy consistency. Simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes, taste for salt and pepper. Serve soup over toasted bread slices and top with fresh parsley. A squeeze of lemon would be nice to brighten it all up.
Notes
Recipe inspired from here. I used less oil, more vegetable stock, more garlic and added rosemary. A little squeeze of lemon at the end would’ve been nice too. You could also add a poached or fried egg on top or some sautéed mushrooms would also be good.