Cannellini Bean Soup

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I think Sarah and I seem to post a lot of soup recipes. In my house I make soup to get rid of stuff in the fridge and/or avoid the grocery store since you can pretty much throw in anything. Soup can also coax my kids into eating vegetables, and I can make it ahead of time. Plus, I’ve just always really loved soup. My grandmother’s Navy Bean soup started my love affair with white bean soups. They get soft with soft skins so you don’t have to really chew them, you can puree them if you want to make a creamy soup, they don’t hurt my gut, and they have a mild flavor so I can taste the soup’s vegetables. I like that.

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Cannellini Bean Soup


 

Ingredients:

  • About 2 1/2 cups or one 16oz. package of dry cannellini beans
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped or sliced whatever your pleasure
  • 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 0-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • some form of tomatoes (optional): 1-2 fresh chopped, 1 can diced, chopped, stewed or whole peeled, or 1-2 cups tomato sauce.
  • some form of greens (optional): 1/2 lb of something like kale or escarole.
  • Chicken or vegetable broth, stock, bullion, Better Than Bullion to make 8-10 cups. I use 1 tbsp Better than Bullion and 8 cups of water, and add more water or Better than Bullion to taste towards the end.
  • Seasonings of choice, salt, pepper, fresh/dried basil, fresh/dried parsley, Italian seasonings, rosemary, etc.
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Directions:

  1. Rinse and pick through the dried beans. Add them to a pot of 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it sit for an hour.
  2. Drain your beans. You may want to reserve some of the water for the broth. It makes me think of dirty dish water, so I dump it all, plus I don’t want to get another bowl out to store it through the next step and I’ve heard bean soaking water is a major cause of gas.
  3. Rinse out the pot if necessary. Put the oil, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onions are softened and translucent.
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  4. Dump the beans back in the pot. Add in the liquid/broth, tomatoes, and seasonings. Simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours or until your beans are soft (they can get mushy if cooked too long). Add in the greens towards the end, sometimes I add in the greens and chunky tomatoes after I have poured off three bowls of soup for the three kids if I think they are feeling picky.
  5. Enjoy. We top with crumbled bacon or Parmesan cheese. (I mixed in leftover BBQ pulled pork (including the sauce) for lunch the next day. YUM.) DSC_0005
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