Usually, it’s loaded with heavy cream, which also loads up the fat and calories. My version uses no cream at all, getting its body from adding extra garlic plus a lone starchy potato, and then blending most of the soup itself up into a luscious creamy consistency. (A few of the beans are reserved and added back in after blending for texture.)
What I love about this soup is that it takes under a half hour to make from start to finish, and I usually have the needed ingredients on hand — a couple of cans of beans, a potato, some herbs, stock and a little white wine, which I’ve been known to skip without catastrophe when I don’t happen to have it on hand.
With white beans being so full of protein and fiber — 1 cup of beans has about 20 grams of protein and over 12 grams of fiber yet almost no fat — this meatless soup is filling without making you feel stuffed.
Serve it with a green salad with a tart Dijon and lemon vinaigrette for a typical Sunday supper that my husband grew up eating in Provence. Or, serve a half portion as a first course, and you’ll eat less at your main meal, which means you can stretch your meat budget in a sneaky and healthy way.
Or simply make this soup because it’s super easy and comforting — easing us from cold weather to warmer weather perfectly. A final note: don’t let the garlic quantities intimidate you. Boiling the garlic tames the flavor and you’ll be left with a mellow, slightly sweet complement to the creamy beans.
Creamless White Bean and Garlic Soup
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small chopped onion, about 1 cup
1 stalk celery, chopped, about 1/3 cup
1 medium carrot, chopped, about 1/3
cup
1/2 teaspoon smoked (or sweet)
paprika
20 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium russet potato, peeled and
cut into quarters
2 cans white beans, drained and
rinsed
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
1 large sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and sweat the onion, celery and carrot over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.
Add the smoked paprika, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine and stock and bring to a simmer.
Add the potato, beans, herbs, bay leaf, and 2 cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil and let simmer, partially covered with a lid, over medium low heat until potato and garlic are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes (add a couple of ice cubes to expedite cooling). Spoon out the herb stems and bay leaf and discard.
Scoop out about a cup of beans and set aside. Use an immersion blender to blend the rest of the soup until creamy. Or, blend in a traditional blender, being very careful not to get burned — blend in batches and remove the lid center, cover with a dishrag, to allow steam to escape.
Add the reserved beans back to the blended soup, adjust for seasoning, and serve.
Cook’s Note: Traditionally, the herbs are tied up with kitchen string or placed in a cheesecloth pouch, called a “bouquet garni.” But fishing out the stems and allowing a few errant leaves to be blended up in the soup works quite fine for a quick weeknight soup.
Nutrition information per serving: 181 calories; 14 calories from fat; 2 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 586 mg sodium; 32 g carbohydrate; 11 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 10 g protein.
Keep count
• NUTRITION information per serving: 181 calories; 14 calories from fat; 2 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 586 mg sodium; 32 g carbohydrate; 11 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 10 g protein.
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