White Bean And Canadian Bacon Soup With Pesto Recipes

Steps:

• To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and leek and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook until beans are almost tender, about 1 hour. Stir in potato cubes. Cook until potato and beans are soft, about 20 minutes. Stir in thyme, salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, to make the pesto, place basil, shallots and garlic in a food processor. Process until chopped. Add olive oil and water. Process until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down sides of work bowl. Season with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with 2 teaspoons of the pesto and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, 30 seconds. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir the cannellini beans and 1 cup of water into the skillet. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture is just thickened, 8 minutes. Stir in the pesto and Parmesan.
• Add the chicken broth and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery is tender, 15 minutes. Stir in the olives and roasted peppers to combine.

Steps:

• Combine the onion, garlic, drained beans, bay leaf, sage and 2 1/2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours, until the beans are very tender and the broth is fragrant. Remove the bay leaf and sage sprig.
• Using an immersion blender, purée the soup (or you can use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing) until it is very smooth. Return to the pot, heat through, add freshly ground pepper and adjust salt. Thin out as desired with water or milk.
• Ladle the soup into bowls. Stir the pistou, and if it is very stiff, thin out with a little olive oil so that you can drizzle it into each bowl and it won't just fall in as a clump. Put about 2 teaspoons on each bowl, add a few garlic croutons if desired, and serve. Diners should stir the pistou into the soup for the best flavor.