Mediterranean Bean Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups of the broth to a boil in a large saucepan.
• Add potatoes and carrots, cover, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
• While potatoes cook, place oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Add onions, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
• Add 1 cup of broth and bring to a boil.
• Add the cooked potatoes, carrots, and their liquid; stir in thyme and rosemary.
• In a food processor or blender, purée the beans with the final cup of broth.
• Add to the soup and bring to a boil.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and adjust thickness with additional broth, if necessary; stir in the lemon juice.
• Serve with croutons or toasted bread as garnish.

Steps:

• Rinse the beans and pick out any debris.
• Put the beans in a crockpot set on high.
• Add the salt and water.
• Cook for 8 hours or overnight, or cook in simmering water on the stove for a couple of hours.
• Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion, bell pepper, carrots, and celery.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 min until soft.
• Add the garlic and cook for 3-4 min more.
• Scrape the vegetables into the beans.
• Rinse the kale and remove any big stems.
• Chop the leaves and add to the soup along with the tomatoes, basil, rosemary and red pepper flakes.
• Cook until the kale is wilted and tender, about 15-20 minute.

Steps:

• Heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven or medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, bay leaf, onions and herb bundle and season with a little salt and more pepper. Cook until soft, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Deglaze with the wine, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Stir for 1 minute more. Add the stock and bring to a low boil.
• Add a few ladles of the soup to a food processor along with 1 can of beans and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the soup and stir to combine. Add the remaining can of beans and the kale and cook until the kale is wilted. Season with a hint of nutmeg. Add the cheese rind and simmer for 15 minutes at a low bubble to let the flavors combine. Adjust the seasonings.
• Remove the cheese rind, herb bundle and bay leaf from the soup. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and a drizzle of EVOO. Serve with bread for mopping.