Creamy Bean Soup with Fresh Herbs and Spinach, BA 1/06

[valchemist]

This soup is great. and quite easy. I love the rosemary flavor with the creamy bean puree, and the spinach adds nice color, taste, and texture to the soup. The only change I made was to use fresh thyme instead of sage. Oh, and I used my immersion blender to puree and I didn't puree the soup fully -- I left some beans whole.

Highly recommended! Lowfat, too. You don't need the full 3 tbsp of oil. I used 1 tbsp. oops, I guess that was the third change that I made to the recipe.

CREAMY BEAN SOUP WITH FRESH HERBS AND SPINACH

Cara Brunetti Hillyard of Hamilton, Virginia, writes: "I come from a long line of great cooks. My father owns an Italian market in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where my mother gets a lot of the ingredients she uses in her wonderful dishes. My mother-in-law is a recipe developer, and I've been known to sit next to my great-aunt Stella with a pen and paper as she details her amazing recipes. I live far from home now, but I reconnect with my family traditions every evening when I make dinner."

Pureeing the soup gives it a smooth richness — without any cream.


3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 15- to 16-ounce cans white beans, drained
2 15- to 16-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

1 6-ounce package baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)


Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Makes 8 first-course servings
Bon Appétit, January 2006

[TLee4]

Yum..that looks really good to me. I will definitely make it soon. Thanks for posting!

Terri

[Peggy]

Thanks for posting the recipe, Val. I'm put it in my to-try pile. :)

Peggy

[SueK]

Val - I made this one recently, and like you, I also only partially pureed it, as I wanted to still have some whole beans in it. We loved it, and it was a great "comfort food" type soup.

Tonight I'm making the cover soup from the Feb BA (it's called a different name inside than what it's called on the cover for some reason) , so I'll report back on this one is!

[veschke]

That looks wonderful! Thanks for reviewing it.

[honeygirl1971]

Looks great and easy too. Thanks for posting! :)

[DitzyCook]

Thanks! I had this on my "to try" list .. will bump it up to the top. I've been eyeing.

[cinnamon_queen]

I have been eyeing this one as well. Thank you for the review! Do you think that it could be make with a bean other than garbanzo? It's the only bean that I don't really care for. I thought they might add a thickness or texture that was key to the soup...

[SusanMac]

I love bean soups, but have never made one w/garbanzos. Thx for the review.

Cinnamon Queen - from the recipe, it looks like a basic bean soup. You could mix any beans. A mix of white and pinto would probably be nice.

[Andrea_2]

That looks really good! I have some rosemary and sage needing to be used, so looks like this is going on the menu!

[Wendy w]

Thanks Val! I had been eyeing this recipe. Maybe this weekend.

[valchemist]

I have been eyeing this one as well. Thank you for the review! Do you think that it could be make with a bean other than garbanzo? It's the only bean that I don't really care for. I thought they might add a thickness or texture that was key to the soup...

I think you'll be fine to use all white beans or a combo of white and some other kind.

[Yoga0829]

Does anyone have the nutritional info for this handy?

[cinnamon_queen]

Thanks for the suggestions about being able to use other beans with this. Pinto's are a great idea...I love the flavor they have.

Yoga - if no one runs the nutritional information for you by this evening, I was going to import it into MC when I get home and can give you nutritional info then.

[cinnamon_queen]

* Exported from MasterCook *

Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs and Spinach

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Cups Chopped Onions -- (about 2 medium)
3 Cloves Garlic -- minced
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Rosemary
5 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 15 Ounce Cans White Beans, Canned -- drained
2 15 Ounce Cans Garbanzo Beans, Canned -- drained
1 6 Ounce Package Spinach Leaves -- baby
1 Tablespoon Fresh Sage -- finely chopped
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Source:
"Bon Appétit, January 2006"
Posted by Valchemist CLBB
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 355 Calories; 7g Fat (16.7% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; 11g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 661mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

[cinnamon_queen]

I think this is the way I'm going to make it, since I don't like garbanzo beans:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs and Spinach

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Onions -- (about 2 medium)
3 Cloves Garlic -- minced
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Rosemary
5 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 15 Ounce Cans Great Northern Beans, Canned -- drained
2 15 Ounce Cans Pinto Beans, Canned -- drained
1 6 Ounce Package Spinach Leaves -- baby
1 Tablespoon Fresh Sage -- finely chopped
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Source:
"Bon Appétit, January 2006"
Posted by Valchemist CLBB
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 267 Calories; 3g Fat (8.4% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 784mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

[staceye]

I made this for dinner last night, pretty much as written ("No-Chikn" broth as opposed to the real thing), and it was GREAT! Delicious and filling. I'm not usually a creamy soup fan, but this beat my expectations.
-Stacey

[gertdog]

I completely missed this recipe when browsing my January BA- it sounds delicious! I made another soup recently that called for the addition of baby spinach- it's a great idea because there's no chopping required yet you still get that nice dose of nutrition and texture. Looking forward to trying this one. :)

[SusanMac]

I always add spinach to my lentil soups too. It's a nice way to make odd-colored soups look prettier! (the big glop of brown soup never looks very appetizing to me)

[Susan]

Thanks for posting this! I look forward to trying it soon. Yum!

[Andrea_2]

I made this last night too, and I also thought it was great! I made the recipe exactly as written (used Great Northern and Garbanzo beans), and it was just so flavorful. My only question is what to do with all the leftovers. I had it for dinner last night and lunch today, but still have quite a bit left. Would this freeze ok??

[donleyk]

Made this for the weekend and it was awesome. Easy and fairly quick coming together. I did halve the recipe. I am sure it would freeze well, I halved it because I had only one jar of northern beans.

I just used my potato masher so there were still whole beans but a nice creamy texture.

Thanks for posting!!

[cangoss]

I made this last night for dinner. I added 2 carrots, chopped in the food processor, to sneak in some extra vegetables. DH doesn't think that soup is a meal, so I added some italian sausage to his bowl, which he thought was a good addition. It was really filling and a definite repeater. I'm thinking about modifying the recipe to be Mexican rather than Italian, using the CL "refried" white bean recipe for guidance.

[Laurielee]

Candace, what a great idea adding sausage. Dh also doesnt think of soup as a main meal. I have been eyeing this recipe and have left over sausage and was thinking what to do with it, so this is perfect,

Laurie

[Wendy w]

I made this on Sunday and it was so good and easy. What a good idea about adding sausage.

[valchemist]

yes, I think sausage would be great in there!

[cangoss]

The sausage thing wasn't entirely my idea... the cover recipe of the Feb BA is white bean soup with Italian Sausage. Why they have white bean soup two months in a row I couldn't tell you :rolleyes:

[SPITFIRE]

I guess I'm the lone dissenter. Even with the herbs it didn't have the depth of flavor I had hoped. After a few spoonfuls, it got rather "samey." Adding sausage or chopped ham steak/ham hock would help. DH sadly could not find any redeeming qualities other then "It's healthy and good for me so I will finish my bowl." :rolleyes: :(

Oh well, they all can't be winners and if we all react to recipes the exact same way this board would be a pretty boring place.

[Laurielee]

this was Awsome, Dh and I are not real soup eaters and thought this was best we can remember. We did think it could have been kicked up a notch with some spice but wasnt sure what, maybe some more rosemary or salt.


I did make several changes from recommendations here.

I used pinto beans instead of garbanzo,
1 can of white beans, and one can of cannelli
added 2 c of minced carrot in onion sautee mixture.
added sausage.

I added the sausage before I pureed the soup and went oops. I took out the sausage and also eneded up taking about 2 cups of bean with it. this was actually good. because I purreed what was left and then added the whole bean sausage mixture, I think this really made it.

the only thing DH complained about was the spinach should ahve been chopped up, he didnt like eating teh big leaves, I agreed on that one.


Something has to be wrong with teh serving size. it say:

8 first course servings, which means to me, its served before a main entree. We each ate 2 full bowls and I have a ton left

Laurie

[Laurielee]

my post was invisible :confused:

Laurie

[cangoss]

I'm bumping this one up because we're back to soup season and I made this again last night. I added carrots and italian sausage again. DH didn't seem to remember it from last year but declared it "a really good dinner" :)