It’s soup weather! This Creamy White Bean soup is a winter staple of ours because 1) it’s healthy 2) it’s cheap and 3) it’s easy. You can prepare this recipe in the slow cooker as well, which makes it ideal for a busy night.
I used my new Ninja blender to puree the soup, but that’s probably a little overkill. haha, Man, this is seriously the best blender ever and I use it everyday! If you’ve ever seen my kitchen, you know I don’t have a lot of appliances out (I like clean counters), but here’s my Ninja in her new home.
Creamy White Bean Soup
1 pound dry white beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3-5 ounces smoked ham or smoked turkey, cubed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
approximately 4 cups chicken stock (enough to cover)
additional salt and pepper for serving
Rinse dry beans and check for rocks.
Soak beans overnight or use the quick soak method: cover beans with water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and let beans soak for one hour.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beans, ham/turkey, salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Bring beans to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Cook, covered for 1.5-2 hours, or until beans are tender.
Transfer bean soup to a hefty blender (I used the Ninja), and blend until smooth. I like to puree only about 3/4 of the mixture and leave the rest chunky for some texture.
Serve the soup with extra salt and pepper, and top with the Rosemary Crostini (recipe follows).
Rosemary Crostini
about 1/2 a baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
olive oil to drizzle
a few pinches of fresh or dried rosemary
Preheat broiler to high. Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and drizzle baguette slices with olive oil. Put them under the broiler for about one minute, until they are beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, top with cheese and rosemary. Put them back under the broiler until the cheese melts, about one minute.
