Friday, September 30, 2011

Tuscan bean soup with the best croûtons I've ever made

Tuscan bean soup / Sopa toscana de feijão branco

When I told Joao I was making this soup he made his usual “eeeew” face and said: “I hate white beans”. I immediately thought “you hate just about everything” but since I was in a very good mood I kept on cooking and singing ("Breakfast in America" was stuck in my head that day).

The hubby did not eat the soup but went crazy for the croûtons – and indeed they were delicious. I had no idea that croûtons made in a frying pan could be so good. He ended up eating almost all of them – I should have told him “no soup, no croûtons”, but I didn’t. I’m such a softie. :)

Tuscan bean soup
from the always gorgeous and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g dried white beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
5 cups (1.2l) vegetable or chicken stock
1 ¼ cups (300ml) heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Croûtons:
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
150g day-old ciabatta loaf – or your favorite bread – cut into rough cubes

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add leek, onion and garlic and sauté until tender (8-10 minutes). Add beans and stock, bring to the boil, then cook over low-medium heat until beans are very tender (30-45 minutes; add more stock if beans become too dry).
Meanwhile, for croûtons, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add ciabatta and stir frequently until golden and crisp (2-4 minutes), then set aside on absorbent paper to drain.
Transfer bean mixture to a food processor or blender and process, in batches, with cream until smooth.
Season to taste and serve hot, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and scattered with croûtons.

Serves 6

12 comments:

pam said...

I discovered this one time too, they come out perfect from the frying pan. I also toss some dried herbs or spices in with them.

Abby said...

LOVE croutons made that way! I'm not a bean fan, but puree them into soup and I'm all about it!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Gorgeous! Send me your husband's portion of soup. He doesn't know what he's missing.

Shirley said...

I'm not as nice... I would totally have withheld the croutons! And I would have had the soup because it looks so good.

argone said...

Great picture and soup ! My kids love the croutons ... thank you for the recipe :-)

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm....I would have given in too!

Maria said...

Yum this soup sounds delicious and those croutons look gorgeous!

Rivki Locker said...

Not sure why he didn't like the soup - it looks incredible - but I'm with him on the croutons, for sure. Those look and sound wonderful.

Anna said...

I always have my homemade croutons ready for soups...I'm up for this bean soup...Already soaking the beans...

Мъх said...

great idea. I have never tryed bean cream soup, but I'll correct this misunderstanding:-)
Croutons are perfect in this case;-)
Have a great weekend!

Jenni Hebert said...

I just made this soup!! So yummy! I opted for 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream, sprouted bread for the croutons and 1 leek instead of 2. It came out amazing!! My husband and I both love it!!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hi, Jenni!
I'm so glad to hear you and your hubby liked the soup! That is great news - thank you for letting me know!

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