White Bean Soup With Bacon And Herbs Food

WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place a large Dutch oven, or heavy bottom pot, over medium-high heat.
• Once the pot is hot, add in a small drizzle of olive oil, and the chopped bacon; crisp the bacon completely until nice and brown, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain it on some paper towel, and set it aside for a moment; reserve about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat, and set that aside for a moment, as well; wipe out the pot, and return it to medium-high heat.
• Next, add back into the pot the bacon fat, along with the olive oil and the butter, and allow them to melt together.
• Once butter is melted and sizzling, add in the diced onion, carrots and celery, and allow them to soften and saute for about 5 minutes.
• Next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in about 2/3 of the reserved, crisped bacon, as well as the Italian seasoning, the sea salt and the pepper, along with the white beans, and stir to combine.
• Now add in the hot chicken stock, stir, and allow the soup to gently simmer for about 40-45 minutes, partially covered with lid.
• About half way through the cooking process, mash the beans a little bit with the back of your spoon, or with a potato masher, to break up the beans a little bit and release their natural starch to thicken the soup.
• After about 40 minutes, turn the heat off and finish the soup by adding in the chopped parsley, the lemon zest and the lemon juice.
• Serve the soup with some nice, crusty bread to dip, and garnish with some of the remaining crisped bacon.

SLOW-COOKER CAULIFLOWER, POTATO AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the potatoes, cauliflower, beans, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, butter, wine, thyme, garlic powder and 1½ teaspoons kosher salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 8 hours on low.
• Remove and discard the thyme sprig, and turn off the slow cooker. Add the lemon juice. To make a completely smooth and creamy soup, purée the ingredients using an immersion blender. (Or, purée the soup in a blender in two batches, transferring the puréed soup to a different pot.) To make a textured, chunky soup, smash the ingredients using a potato masher in the slow cooker. Stir in the sour cream and chives. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve in bowls topped with black pepper, crushed potato chips and shredded Cheddar. For leftovers, gently reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until it just barely bubbles around the edges; don't let it boil or the sour cream will break.

WHITE BEAN & BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Quick soak dried beans by placing them in a dutch oven covered with 4 cups (at least 2 inches) of cold water -- bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and let sit for about 1 hour. While waiting prepare vegetables and bacon. Drain beans in a colander.
• Using the same pot, saute bacon in olive oil at medium high heat until lightly carmelized. Add celery, carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add wine and reduce until wine is practically gone, then stir in salt, peppercorns, pepper, chili, sage, herbs, stock, water and beans.
• Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat to light simmer, cover and cook for about 2 hours.
• Check that beans are completely soft, then slurry with a wand mixer for 30 seconds, leaving about half of the beans in tact.
• Stir in the parsley, remove from heat and let stand, covered until cooled.