Friday, February 26, 2010

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

Every once in awhile I get a massive craving for beans. Kinda strange, huh? I mean who craves beans? Maybe it is the result of being a vegetarian for several years, who knows. I think I ate about every kind of bean this week. I made a creamy rice dish with red chili beans and kidney beans, this Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup, black bean burgers, and then had garbanzo beans in my couscous. Suffice it to say, I have certainly satisfied my craving for beans this week!

This Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup is really creamy and flavorful and costs next to nothing to make, which is a plus. The recipe and the picture caught my eye while reading through a copy of Giada's Kitchen and I was very happy to find that I had all the ingredients to make this soup. I am a big sucker for recipes made with pantry/staple ingredients.

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup
*Adapted from Giada's Kitchen*
Makes 4-6 servings
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 sage leaves, stems removed
2 (15-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 slices ciabatta bread
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the sage leaves, cannelini beans, and garlic and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth to the pan, until the garlic is softened, about 15 minutes. Pour half the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle a third to half of the soup from the bowl into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth (be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended). Pour the blended remaining soup from the bowl. Once all the soup is returned to the soup pot, stir in the cream, salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm over very low heat.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with the EVOO. Grill the bread until it is warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.

Notes/Results: I blended about half of the soup and left the other half chunky. I also added some red pepper flakes and a little more sage. This soup doesn't have a lot of body to it, but it is flavorful, delicious and filling nonetheless. I enjoyed it with some baguette, which I didn't even bother to grill. It is a simple, easy and delicious soup that can be made from pantry ingredients. I made this for dinner one night and was eager to have it again for lunch the next day. If you are concerned with calories, I think the cream could probably be omitted, or at the very least reduced. This is a keeper recipe based on the fact that it is easy, delicious and pretty healthy!

I am sending this recipe over to my friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays! Each Sunday, Deb has a roundup of soups, salads and sammies. Head on over there this Sunday to check out all the delicious goodies!

30 comments:

  1. I love beans and garlic!What a delicious soup, Kim!I made a white bean soup a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious topped with bacon!

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  2. Yes, perfect with a crusty baguette daaaaahling. And butter!!! Lots of butter ;)
    *kisses* HH

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  3. Kim, this is a perfect soup for the cold weather here on the East Coast, This soup has some great flavors and I love the rich looking texture. It looks delicious.

    Maybe beans are in my future by way of this truly spectacular soup. Many thanks...

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  4. Oh the soup looks so delicious. I love the garlic flavor in soup. I must try this.

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  5. I totally crave beans. A lot actually. And broccoli. But then again, I'm probably a pretty strange person.

    What a great looking soup! I could definitely use some of that now that I'm piled under 18+ inches of snow.

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  6. I think this soup sounds awesome...I love the garlic in there.

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  7. I've seen a few versions of this soup in the past week, must be the weather. I have been wanting to try it and hope to on Sunday.

    Glad to hear you might be able to come to the food blogger get together! We will let you know the details in the near future with plenty of lead time.

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  8. This looks really good...and I'm not much of a soup person.

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  9. I'm a fan of Giada's recipes too. It sounds delicious! I like your additions!

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  10. This looks great. I have been trying a lot of new soups lately and I'm bookmarking this one for sure!

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  11. I absolutely love cannellini beans and love this recipe!

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  12. I like the rustic style of this soup. I bet it's very filling.

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  13. I love beans, and this quick and simple soup sounds fantastic!

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  14. Totally lovely soup! I'm not even a vegetarian, and I love beans, so it's not that strange that you have a craving. Beans are good for you. Low in fat, high in fiber and protein...you can't go wrong. I bet this was wonderful.

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  15. I realized that, when I packed hub's lunch the other day, that I gave him leftover veggie chili and also black bean burgers. Hmm, maybe bean overload for one day!
    Love the soup, perfect with the baguette. And that bowl is super cute.

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  16. The perfect vegetarian meal if I sub the chicken stock for veg stock! I crave beans sometimes too! haha....great recipe. And it'll keep the vampires away too! LOL

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  17. This looks amazing and you can never go wrong with a recipe from Giada. THanks so much for sharing!

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  18. This is one of the first soups I made for Souper Sundays many moons ago. It was good--although I remember adding more garlic and chili pepper flakes and such too. Your looks delicious--love that bowl! Thanks for sending it to Souper Sundays. ;-)

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  19. Giada's recipes are pretty good - I have been making her pasta e fagioli recipe for eons.

    Thanks for reminding me about Souper Sundays - I have to get my soup post up!

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  20. Occasionally I will get on a bean kick as well--I love making Italian white bean soup. I think cannellini beans have to be my favorite. This soup sounds really flavorul, most of Giada's recipes usually are!

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  21. I love beans! red, white, green, chick peas, lentils, flageolets... I love this recipe and I think I have white beans in my pantry - as for garlic, I always have some in my fridge.

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  22. i'm with you, i LOVE beans, i don't always think they get the recognition they deserve! this looks fantastic! i could eat a soup like this all day long.

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  23. Sounds scrumptious Kim! The photos are making me hungry! :)

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  24. I crave beans, too, and never tire of them. Dontchya love it when your pantry is stocked with everything you need? I'm sold on trying this soup, Kim. It looks healthy and very satisfying.
    PS: I can't believe I haven't added you to my blogroll! You're on it now. xoxo

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  25. This is one of my favorite winter soups and your version looks especially nice. I really like to visit here. You always have something interesting to try or see. Have a great day. Mary

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  26. I think it is normal to crave for beans.... They are just so good! :)

    I have never tried Giada's recipes but I love watching her show while I am at the gym. She is so refreshing. And she seems to have created a great soup . Great job from you to have recreated it.

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  27. WOW..what a great sounding soup recipe! And soup is always good with a base of chicken stock!

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  28. in this case you should try the tuscan bean side dish...authentic tyraditional recipe
    oriana of tuscanycious
    'njoy

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  29. This is the best recipe - reminding me to stock up on ingredients. Soups like this get me through winter and ol man winter is done with MN yet! Your soup is beckoning to me. I must answer.

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  30. I'm really not a fan of soups, but if something's got beans in it, then I'm almost sure to like it. This one looks perfect.
    Maybe that's got something to do with being a vegetarian. ;-)

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