This is my version of a “serious” white bean soup from the great Italian-American cook, Marcella Hazan.
It is in my newly published book–Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–a Mediterranean Way of Eating.
The smooth and creamy consistency make it a comfort soup par excellence –and popular here with nieces and nephews when they come to visit. Meredith says it reminds her of her home town–Chicago, “the Windy City”!
The simple makings
Serves 4
1 clove of garlic – peeled and chopped
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley – chopped
1 kg/36 oz canned or, preferably, bottled cannelini /white beans – drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
250 ml/½ pint/1 cup vegetable stock –[I use organic vegetable stock cubes]
toasted wholewheat/rye bread with a little olive oil
- Sauté the garlic in the oil gently until it colours.
- Add the parsley and stir a couple of times.
- Mix in the beans, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes to warm through.
- Purée a quarter of the beans in a mixer and return with the stock to the pan.
- Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Check the seasoning.
- Serve over the toast with a swirl of olive oil in each bowl.
Robin Ellis 
Windy city…… 🙂
I call them “musical beans”. When I make my own version of a Minestrone soup, they are – together with onions and other ingredients – the “brass section”.
Very funny–
there was the famous Petomane–a French Music Hall act who managed to do incredible things like blow out a candle from the other side of the stage!
Well, we don’t have to guess what they had for lunch….. and breakfast, I’m sure!
I can imagine that there were always tickets for the first row that nobody wanted 🙂
Oh my. I had to Google “Petomane”. I didn’t notice the similarity to “péter”. My, what a skill Monsieur Pujol had. I also missed the connection with the “windy city”. Now I get it. Not what I expected when I started out reading a recipe, but again, sir, your blog delivers in so many ways…
This sounds delish! Thanks, all, for the reminder about the side-effects as I am eating breakfast…! 🙂
Just read about your new book in the August edition of Connexion 2.
This soup sounds just the sort of thing that we enjoy here at the presbytere.
Many thanks for sharing.
Maggie
Enjoy your posts, keep them coming.
It sounds easy and delicious. We have our main meal here in the dining room but I like to fix things for lunch. Just made a pot of French Onion Soup. Please tell Meredith I am also from the Windy City