Tags
bell pepper, cannellini beans, carrots, chicken stock, food, homemade croutons, recipe, soup, white beans, yellow onions
I don’t know exactly where each of you are in the world (though I know several of you are in Canada and the northeastern part of the US).
But wherever you are, if you are feeling like there is a chill in the air then you may be searching for some meals to make you feel cozy and warm at the end of the day.
Speaking of chilly days, have you put away your Halloween decor yet?
I’m hoping I can rally the troops after school today so we can get our spiders, grave stones and spooky skeleton hands tucked away until next year.
It’s part of my trying to stay on track with keeping organized and not letting my procrastinating ways get the best of me.
This morning I made a list to keep me on track for today. It mostly involved returning phone calls and emails with a few appointments to make and a load or two of laundry. There’s always laundry.
There’s something about a making a list, don’t you think?
Just going through each item and being able to cross something off makes me feel productive.
I’m on the hunt for pretty paper with which to make my daily to-do lists on.
Any ideas or web sites I should visit?
Pretty graphics and font styles make me happy, which in turn just makes a lengthy list that much better. Well, a little better.
Shall we get back to cozy soup making?
This recipe is a variation of a recipe I found in The Silver Palate Cookbook for White Bean and Sausage Soup with Peppers. I omitted the sausage and topped mine with homemade croutons and a crumble of bacon.
It was filling and we really enjoyed it.
To begin you’ll need to soak overnight 1 1/4 cup of dried white beans. In a large Dutch oven, melt 4 tbsp of unsalted butter, then add 2 cups chopped yellow onions, 2 chopped carrots, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. When they are softened, add 6 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, 1 tsp of dried thyme, 1 bay leaf and 4 cups of chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, and simmer partially covered.
Discard the bay leaf. In the bowl of a food processor, add the drained beans and herbs and 1 cup of reserved broth. Process until smooth.
Dice two red bell peppers. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and saute until softened, but still crunchy.
Return the pureed soup to the Dutch oven and stir in additional reserved cooking liquid, 2 to 3 cups or until the soup is of the desired consistency. Add sauteed bell pepper and stir to combine. Heat the soup through over medium heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I served my soup with homemade rustic croutons and crumbled bacon. You can omit one or the other, but I thought they added that little something to each bowl.
Well, I’m off to work a little more on my Tuesday list including another load of laundry.
White Bean Soup with Homemade Croutons and Bacon
Recipe adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook
Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs flat leaf parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 1/4 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
homemade croutons
crumbled bacon
Method
In a large Dutch oven, melt 4 tbsp of unsalted butter, then add 2 cups chopped yellow onions, 2 chopped carrots, and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic. When they are softened, add 6 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, 1 tsp of dried thyme, 1 bay leaf and 4 cups of chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, and simmer partially covered about 25 minutes.
Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf. In the bowl of a food processor, add the drained beans and herbs and 1 cup of reserved broth. Process until smooth and return pureed soup to Dutch oven, adding reserved cooking liquid, 2 to 3 cups or until the soup is of the desired consistency.
Saute the diced bell pepper in olive oil over medium heat until peppers are softened, but still crunchy. Add them to the soup. Heat the soup through over medium heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve with homemade croutons and crumbled bacon if desired.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Yum! This looks great!
Thank you for saying so!
What a warm and comforting looking soup! I want a bowl right now for dinner! Garnished with croutons and bacon for sure 🙂
There’s something about those croutons, and of course, bacon! It’s definitely soup season here in eastern North Carolina and I just reheated a bowl of this soup for lunch today (but was too lazy to crisp up some bacon).
Thanks for stopping by!
Allison
Reblogged this on What's For Dinner? and commented:
With the colder weather on the way, this White Bean Soup is on the top of my Must Make list!
Thank you so much!
I’ve really begun to have a ‘Thing for Beans’ – they’re filling, delicious and sooo good for you. Thanks for posting this recipe!! I believe I’m going leave the bean and carrots as is and not blend them just because…. Yummy !!
You said it so well, Cecile! I love your idea of not blending the bean-carrot mixture. The finished soup will take on a totally different characteristic. Perhaps adding in some sausage will be really good too!
Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
Allison
Making this tonight. Totally messed up, sort of. I pit the beans in with the broth, etc. ( like your first picture). But instructions seem to imply puree the beans before adding to broth and veggies. Oh well. Oh, and I cheated and dis the “quick soak ” method on the beans. I probably used too Mich broth, which was turkey stock because it was frozen, and I was too lazy to defrost it. (I don’t own a microwave….). Regardless, right now it smells wonderful! I plan to use my immersion blender, after taking out the bay leaf, to get that thick and creamy texture.
Oh, I’m replying too late! It sounds like you righted your soup and I think it’s forgiving enough that only you know that you may have gone out of order. In the meantime, I’m going to take a look at my instructions (near the photos) to be sure I’m not making things too confusing. I love your idea of using the immersion blender, which I think gives you really good control on just how much of a puree you’d like in the finished soup. Brilliant idea!
Did you crumble in some bacon too? 😉
Oh yes! Bacon is a must! I made some fresh while to beans were in their quick soak. I did forget the red peppers, though. Guess I was too hungry and focused on eating… 🙂
Pingback: Turkey Chili with fresh tomatoes | Yummyfoodmadeeasy
This looks amazing, my kind of dish!
You are so kind to say so…thank you!
Enjoy the weekend!
Allison
Pingback: Rustic Homemade Croutons | Main St. Cuisine
Pingback: Rosemary Focaccia Bread | Main St. Cuisine
I love white bean soup and this looks incredible Allison, especially the crumbled bacon pieces on top! Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thank you, Anne! I think I’ve discovered that not topping off your soup with a crouton is a little like eating a grilled burger plain! 😉
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Allison