Tuscan White Bean Soup With Leeks Roasted Garlic Recipes

Steps:

• Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and beans and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the cream and the pepper Keep warm, covered, over very low heat.
• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill the bread until warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes a side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, saute shallots or onion and garlic with butter and olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add drained beans, sage, and broth. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• If using an immersion blender: blend soup until smooth. If using a regular blender: pour half of mixture into blender and puree until smooth. Pour blended soup back into pan and blend remaining soup, then pour the rest of the blended soup back into pan.
• Add cream, black pepper, and salt to taste. Keep warm over very low heat!

Steps:

• Cook 2 smashed garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, 1 minute. Add 1 chopped plum tomato and 1 sprig rosemary and cook 2 minutes. Add 2 cans drained, rinsed cannellini beans and cook, partially smashing the beans with a spoon, 5 minutes. Remove the rosemary. Stir in 1/2 cup water and some chopped parsley; season with salt. Sprinkle with parmesan and broil until golden. Drizzle with olive oil.

Steps:

• Rinse the dried beans thoroughly then place in a large bowl, cover with ample fresh water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse again and set aside. In a large pot, melt butter, stir in leeks, celery, carrots and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes or so. Stir in the rosemary, squeeze in the roasted garlic, the white wine, soaked beans, stock and salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium and simmer away, covered, stirring occasionally, for about an hour. Beans should be falling apart. If it seems to thick, add more stock or water. Use an immersion blender to purée some or most of it - your choice. Adjust seasonings, ladle into bowls and garnish with croutons, Parmesan and a good drizzle of olive oil. Makes about 6 servings.

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse the beans, place in a saucepan, and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand for about 20 minutes, then drain.
• Return the beans to the saucepan along with the prosciutto, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bay leaf. Pour in the chicken stock and then add water as needed to cover the beans by 2 inches. Slowly bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. (If you heat them too fast, the skins may break.) Adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook, uncovered, until the beans are almost tender, 20 minutes or longer, depending on the age of the beans. Add salt, to taste, and continue cooking until the beans are tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let the beans cool in the liquid.
• Meanwhile, make the bruschetta: Preheat a stove-top grill pan. Place the bread slices in a single layer on the grill pan and toast until each side is crisp and has grill marks, about 6 minutes. (You can also toast the bread in a 500 degrees F oven on a baking sheet.) Remove from the pan and lightly brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil, then season lightly with salt. Let cool.
• Strain the cooled beans and other solids through a sieve, reserving the liquid. In a food processor, puree the beans and solids in batches with 3 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Using a rubber spatula, push the solids through a fine mesh sieve into a clean large saucepan (you should have about 6 cups of soup in the saucepan). Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, in a small skillet over high heat, warm the 1/4 cup olive oil. Turn on the fan above your stove. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn brown. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a few seconds, then add the basil. Cook until basil wilts.
• To serve, ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls. Top the soup with the basil mixture. Serve bruschetta with each bowl, adding Parmesan, if desired.

Steps:

• Place beans in heavy large pot. Add enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. Soak overnight. Drain beans.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, leek, tomato, carrots, celery, garlic and bacon and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add beans, 10 1/2 cups chicken stock, chopped thyme and rosemary. Bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
• Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream. Add more chicken stock by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Lightly drizzle top of each with white truffle oil, if desired.
• *White truffle oil is available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores and some supermarkets nationwide.

Steps:

• Heat toaster oven or oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Tightly wrap garlic cloves in aluminum foil.
• Place on top shelf of oven and roast 30 to 35 minutes or until very tender.
• Set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, in 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
• Add onion, celery, and carrots; saute 8 to 10 minutes or until softened.
• Add water, beans, bay leaf, rosemary, and pepper.
• Heat to boiling over high heat.
• Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Break open skin of garlic cloves and squeeze softened garlic into soup mixture.
• Simmer uncovered 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove and discard bay leaf.
• In blender, puree soup mixture in several batches.
• Return puree to saucepan and reheat briefly.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, divide soup among serving bowls and garnish each with some carrot strips and a celery leaf, if desired.
• Enjoy!