Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe

I have had a crazy week, between work, painters, contractors, a flood and a sick dog I could not wait for the weekend. I spent the weekend relaxing; cooking, baking and reading, which is how I relax. This is a very easy, and delicious soup recipe. You do need to soak the beans the day before though, so don’t forget to do that.  I served this with the Easy Little Bread recipe that I made this past week or you could serve with a small salad. But don’t forget to save room for dessert, like these Cream Cheese Brownies from Once Upon A Chocolate Life.

Tuscan Bean Soup

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

1 pound dried white canelli or navy beans

4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 large branch fresh rosemary

2 quarts of chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cans of drained canelli beans.

Garnish, Sprig or sage leaves and shredded Parmesan cheese.

In
a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1 inch and leave
them in the refrigerator overnight. Drain and set aside.

In
a large stockpot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the
olive oil until the onions are translucent and soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook over low heat for a few minutes. Add the drained
white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. DO NOT ADD SALT TO
THE BEANS UNTIL THE END, OR THE BEANS WILL STAY HARD. Cover, bring to a
boil, and simmer for 60 minutes, or until the beans are very soft.
Remove rosemary and bay leaf and discard. Use an immersion blender or a
food processor to puree the soup a bit. Then add the drained cans of
beans and salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: I usually add
more 4 cans of beans at the end. We like the soup to have lots of
beans. My husband also puts spicy sausage in his.

Linking to:

Foodie Friday

On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/