Better late than never... review of Smoky White Bean Soup

[Wendy w]

Yeah I know, this was posted awhile ago but have not been in the soup making mode until recently. With all of the recent soup threads, I decided to repost this for any of you who missed it the 1st time around. What a wonderful soup, even though I had a brain cramp (or early signs of dementia) and didn't use the exact ingredients. I am usually good about having the right ingredients around.

For example, I had it in my mind that it called for red potatoes:o, and was almost out of onion so I used 1/8th of one and 2 shallots. Third, I only had 1 can of great northern beans but I had some already cooked small white beans in the freezer to make up for the rest. I used my hand blender and it came out great! Thanks Gertdog!!!

Smoky White Bean Soup
Vegetarian Times Low-Fat & Fast: 150 Easy Meatless Recipes

1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes(about 3 cups)
3 cups vegetable broth (or water)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 15-1/2 oz cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup lowfat 1% (or skim) milk
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 oz smoked gouda cheese (1 cup)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
minced red and green peppers or tomato, as garnish


1.In a 6-quart pot, combine potatoes, 2 cups broth (or water) and onion. Cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

2.Process potatoes, onions and cooking liquid in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return mixture to pot. Stir in remaining 1 cup of broth, beans, milk, cumin and cayenne pepper. Simmer over medium heat until hot, about 5 minutes.

3.Remove pot from heat. Stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish individual servings with chopped bell peppers or tomato, if desired.


Per serving:
288 Calories, 4 g fat, 17 g protein, 48 g carbohydrates, 13 mg cholesterol, 112 mg sodium, 9 g fiber

[Terrytx]

This pops up in several places, so I'm not sure where I should post this. Oh well:confused: This was really good! Couldn't be any easier to put together and great flavor. A definate repeater.

[Wendy w]

LOL Terry!

It just so happens that I made Stephanie's bulletin board classic again the other night. I do want to recommend shredding the gouda because it is not a good melting cheese. Yummy, but it definitely does not melt well at all!

[gertdog]

I'm glad people are still enjoying this! It's the perfect time of year for this soup. :)

[knunes]

I'll add my kudos for this soup. When I left for work this morning, I threw some ingredients in to the breadmaker to make bread, knowing that it would be a snowy night and that I would want to make some soup when I got home from work, and thinking of how tasty the bread would be with the soup. This soup recipe was easy to whip up and really tasty. DH went back for seconds and kept commenting about how good it was. I had a little less than a cup of the smoked gouda (shredded), but I grated a little Parmigiano-Reggiano in to make up the difference. I did have the russet potatoes on hand, but it's nice to know it works well with red potatoes too! I'll be making this again!

[Sheila in MD]

This soup has great flavor! I have made it twice and really enjoyed it but I thought it had too many beans the first time. I cut it down to two instead of three cans the second time and liked it much better. I agree about shredding the Gouda-it is hard enought to get it to melt AFTER shredding-can't imagine without! I also used Penzey's chipotle powder in place of the cayenne-figured it would add a bit to the smoky flavor and it did. VERY EASY and quick soup to make.

[langea67]

My son's fiancee' and I LOVE anything with beans. My husband and son aren't bean fans...so all the more for her and I! I'll make this for us girls on her day off this week. I have a question about the Gouda Cheese though. I bought some after hearing countless raves,but it had a very over powering taste that no one liked. No one even finished chewing it or swallowed it. Was it the brand,us or what? Just how is it SUPPOSED to taste?

[knunes]

langea67,
Are you sure you use SMOKED gouda? Personally, I feel it has a "bacony" taste. And I'm not sure what you mean about the chewing and swallowing. I shredded it before adding, so the pieces were little and there wouldn't be anything to chew, so I'm confused. Maybe others have had a different taste experience and will be more helpful. Katie

[langea67]

Thanks knunes. I meant that when we ate it on crackers(left that out..duh)we couldn't stand the taste so everyone spit it out. Maybe it's not used that way afterall? I'll buy a better brand name for the soup just to be safe. It seems like a relatively small amount for the soup as the beans and potatoes alone are so bland. The worst case scenerio would be that I make the soup a second time using smoke flavoring and thicken it a bit using another cheese. Wish me luck and happy taste buds. :)

[langea67]

knunes, THANKS SO MUCH! Your endorsement of Gouda has tickled our taste buds. We asked the Deli in our local market for a brand suggestion. It is right on the money. Gouda will be a staple in our refrig now. The soup was a bit spicy for our tastes,so we added more cheese. We almost doubled it! That great smokey flavor makes such a difference! Oh well,so much for cutting calories. Hey,we all need an occassional indulgence. I've made notations on the recipe to adjust the heat and add more cheese. As if we won't remember how much we love it!? :)

[SueK]

Thanks again for posting this recipe review. I made this last night for dinner and we all gobbled it up. It will definitely be a repeater!

[Kuvy]

Does anyone know what the serving size is for this? We're having it tonight... I'm on Weight Watchers and they're pretty strict about all that.
:o
Thanks!

[CindyWeightWatcher]

My computation on the points for the Smoky
White Bean Soup is 4 points per cup.
This soup is great.
I was wondering if anyone has had
success freezing it since it has
potatoes in it and potatoes generally
don't freeze well.

[alicerh]

I also have a question about the smoked gouda. What I bought tasted like artificial smoked Velveta. I hated it. Did I buy the wrong kind?
Alice

[Tall~Pat]

This sounds great. Thanks for posting it!

Tall~Pat

[Pony]

I made this last night! DH and I loved it. I shredded the gouda based on the recommendations on the board. I loved how the potatoes thickened up the soup after being in the blender. We had a bowl with some TJ's bread, yummy :) Very easy dinner for a weeknight. Thanks for posting.

[zackaboo]

I was looking for a way to use up some smoked gouda that had been lurking in my frig and found this recipe. This is a wonderful soup! I know it isn't that time of year yet, but I am sure that I will make this frequently once it gets colder. I had the pot on the stove and my husband and I kept sneaking spoonfuls. Based on some recommendations I found, I added a couple strips of smoked bacon and frozen, chopped spinach. I highly recommend this one...