Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

First things first. I am very excited to announce that this post is the 100th post on Taste As You Go! When I first started this blog, I never thought I'd reach this milestone so quickly. Thanks to all of you who read and comment and encourage me to keep going! Here's to the next 100 posts.

And now, on with the show...

While watching clips from Everyday Italian on Hulu, I watched Giada De Laurentiis prepare her Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup. This was the second time in one week that I encountered white bean soup, so I took it as a sign that I should make up a batch at home. (The first time was at the grocery store -- white bean soup was one of their daily offerings at the soup bar.)

Cannellini Beans

After looking at Giada's recipe online, I came to the pleasant conclusion that I already had most of the soup's ingredients in my kitchen. I added the missing ingredients to my Fresh Direct order and set out to prepare the soup once my order was delivered. Of course, life got in the way and I had to wait a few days after my groceries were delivered to make the soup. Unfortunately, it wasn't until that point that I realized the shallots I ordered had not arrived.

Fresh Sage

No matter. I used what I had and, as always, altered the recipe slightly to cater to my personal taste (i.e. my love of garlic). I suppose, to some, four cloves of garlic may seem like a lot of garlic, but I thought it just wasn't enough. You'll see by my adaptation of the recipe that I significantly increased the amount of garlic in the soup.

After all was said and done, I would have liked a thicker soup. While it was flavorful and good for dipping the baguette slices I had grilled (Giada, of course, grilled up some ciabatta), the soup was watery. That seems silly to say about soup... But something in my brain connected white beans with a thicker texture. I think, next time, I won't puree the beans as much as I did or, maybe, I'll puree most of the beans and liquid but just pulse the rest in the blender. Regardless, the soup was easy to make and I'll definitely be making more in the future.

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup with Grilled Baguette Slices

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

Adapted from recipe by Giada De Laurentiis | Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 sage leaves
• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups reduced-fat and low-sodium chicken broth
• 8 large cloves garlic, cut in half
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add the sage leaves and beans. Stir to coat.


2. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer.


3. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic has softened, about 10 minutes.


4. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth (see Food Tip). Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup in this fashion.


5. Once all of the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, stir in the cream.


6. Season, to taste, with black pepper and salt.


7. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with julienned sage leaves. Serve with grilled slices of bread.

Food Tip: When blending hot liquids, be very careful to hold the top of the blender down tightly. Hot liquids expand when they are blended, and if you don't hold the lid down, you risk having it fly off, sending the hot liquid all over.

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