Mediterranean White Bean Soup

- Carla -'s Note:

This thick and garlicky soup is a Mediterranean classic normally made from dried beans slowly cooked with potatoes, onions, and garlic. This version takes advantage of cooked beans and a food processor to produce a quick and hearty dinner soup. Serve with plenty of good crusty bread.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced small
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced small
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups cooked cannellini beans or 2 (14 ounce) cans canned cannellini, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring 2 cups of the broth to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Add potatoes and carrots, cover, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. While potatoes cook, place oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
4. Add onions, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
6. Add 1 cup of broth and bring to a boil.
7. Add the cooked potatoes, carrots, and their liquid; stir in thyme and rosemary.
8. In a food processor or blender, purée the beans with the final cup of broth.
9. Add to the soup and bring to a boil.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper and adjust thickness with additional broth, if necessary; stir in the lemon juice.
11. Serve with croutons or toasted bread as garnish.

Reviews

[N Joyner]

I found this recipe to be very good, but only gave it four stars as it called for (in my opinion) way too much celery and onions. I cut the onions back to 1/2 cup and the celery to 1 cup. I also added 1/3 cup grated carrots. My husband loved it!

[mMadness97]

I've had this with the lemon juice and without as well as with chicken and with beef broth. Each time tasted great. It does take a little bit of time to cut up the onion, potato and carrot but it's worth it. Great soup.

[Laughing in the Kitchen]

Super tasty! And pretty easy to make too. I only had one can of cannelini beans on hand, so I improvised a bit. Reduced the amount of stock used in each of the steps (but used close to 3 cups total). Forgot the lemon juice and it still was delicious! Increased the rosemary since it's my favorite herb. Thanks so much for sharing...I know this will be in the regular rotation as we come into fall/winter.