Sarasota's Italian Garlic Bean, Pasta & Arugula Soup

Warm and comforting. Very simple to put together in a hurry and just minutes to simmer for a easy week night meal. Maybe a grilled sandwich on the side. My favorite with this is a hearty grilled "veggie" baguette with lots of gooey cheese for a meatless dinner that has tons of flavor.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 6 Large bowls of soup

Ingredients

• 3 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained but not rinsed (I like a small Italian white bean, but navy, great northern will work fine)

• Note

• 2  cups  dried soaked and cooked if you want to make your own  beans
• 4  ounces small shell pasta
• 8  cups  chicken stock (broth is fine)
• 4  teaspoons  minced garlic (more or less according to taste)
• 1  medium onion (chopped fine)
• 1 (7 ounce) bag baby arugula
• 3  tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine
• 4  tablespoons olive oil
•  salt
•  pepper

• Garnish

•  olive oil

Directions

1. Soup Base -- In a large pot, add the olive oil and heat to medium. Add the garlic and onion and cook 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften.
2. Beans -- Take 1 1/2 cans of the beans of mix them with a little of the chicken broth (1 cup or so) in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times until pureed. Not too long.
3. Then to the pot with the onion and garlic, add in the rest of the beans, the pureed beans and the rest of the broth. Bring to a medium boil and add the pasta in and cook until al dente. Should take around 8-10 minutes is all.
4. Arugula -- Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and add the arugula and parsley, and any salt and pepper to taste. The arugula will cook just with the heat of the soup.
5. Serve -- I serve this with some good olive oil as a garnish drizzled over the top and some crusty bread if you are just having the soup or you can make some grilled sandwiches on the side. ENJOY!