Showing posts with label white beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white beans. Show all posts

Rustic Bean Soup

"Rustic" implies simplicity and charm that is typical of the countryside. When the wind isn't blowing in the right directions, I can smell the cows from a nearby dairy farm. That's probably as close to the country as I'm going to get. Those folks have it rough not being close to modern amenities like grocery and hardware stores, farmers markets, museums, food cartopia, freeways, etc.

Ingredients

1 qt organic chicken stock
3 chicken sausages, cooked and sliced (or crumbled)
3 organic carrots, sliced
1 c. dry small white beans, soaked
One 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
2 medium yukon potatoes, cubed
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 c. red rice wine
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp herbs de provence or Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Soak beans in a bowl overnight. Discard soaking liquid and refill bowl with water until ready to use. Discard liquid before adding beans to crockpot.

2. In a crockpot, add all the ingredients. Set to "low" for 8 hours.

3. Ladle hot soup into bowls and serve with homemade bread.

Hearty Tomato Bean Soup

This recipe is not that bad now that tomato sauce has been added to it. The tomato adds another layer of depth to this dish and helps to balance out the flavors. This recipe was formerly known as the baked beans recipe on this blog and revised the directions to include crockpot instructions.
Ingredients

1 c. white beans, soaked overnight and drained
1/4 c. red azuki beans
1/3 c. green mung beans
1/4 c. brown basmati rice
2 bacon slices, diced
3 tbsp honey
4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz organic tomato sauce
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground thyme
salt (optional)

Directions

1. In a bowl large enough to accommodate the beans, cover beans with enough water so that there is about 1/2" of water above the beans. Let soak for a few hours or overnight. Drain beans and add to a crockpot.

2. In a small skillet, cook diced bacon until browned and add bacon to crockpot.

3. Add honey, dry mustard, salt (optional), pepper, oregano, thyme and garlic.

4. Add chicken broth. Soup can be thinned out with water if necessary.

5. Depending on what meal of the day this is for, set crockpot on high-6hrs or low-8hrs. The beans should be fork-tender in a couple hours.

6. Blend cooked ingredients together in a blender or with an immersion blender.

Serves many.