Best Mediterranean Bean Soup Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN ROMAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in large soup pot over medium-high heat.
• Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, cumin, cinnamon and pepper flakes and stir.
• Stir in sweet potato, turnips, string beans, broth, tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Add beans and simmer for 2 hours.
• Add green olives 5 minutes before serving.

MEDITERRANEAN BEAN AND BACON SOUP

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.

MEDITERRANEAN WHITE BEAN SOUP

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.

MEDITERRANEAN BEAN SOUP AND TUNA SANDWICH

Steps:

• SOUP: Preheat oven to 450F Cut the top off whole garlic to expose cloves and place on a piece of foil. Drizzle with 1 teaspoons olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast until soft, about 25 minutes.
• Heat remaining oil in a stock pot or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, and sauté until lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Pour in wine and reduce by half. Add broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 15 minutes.
• Squeeze out garlic and mash with a fork. Stir into soup along with half the thyme and rosemary. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining herbs.
• SANDWICH: Combine tuna, olives and sundried tomatoes.
• Divide mixture between 4 slices of bread. Top each with equal amounts of baby spinach and cheese crumbles. Top with remaining bread slices.

MEDITERRANEAN KALE & WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 4 or 5-quart heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, working to break into bite sized pieces, until lightly browned, about five minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate, leaving any rendered fat in the pot.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high, and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
• Add the carrot and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and brown, about 2 minutes more. Be sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Stir in the garlic, pepper flakes, salt & black pepper and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
• When the broth reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium, add the sausage along with any collected juices, and HALF of the beans.
• Mash the remaining cup of beans with a fork or wooden spoon and add them to the pot, stirring to distribute.
• Stir in the kale, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, and simmer until the kale is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. (I cover the pot loosely during this step to prevent too much reduction in the broth.).
• Stir in the lemon juice and zest just before serving.
• (It's even better the next day!).

MEDITERRANEAN THAI EGGPLANT WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the ends off the eggplant then cut the eggplant lengthwise.
• Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay the eggplant pieces cut-side-down on the sheet; bake the eggplant in the oven for 45 minutes.
• While eggplant is baking, grate half of the onion (you want the grated texture and intense flavor of the onion juice without the chopped texture) and chop the other half.
• When the eggplant is done, take one half and simply scoop out the soft inner parts; the other half you want to cut into chunky cubes (you can leave the peel on or not- it's up to you- but I removed it); turn off the oven.
• In a food processor, put half of the white beans, half of the chopped basil, the chopped onion (not the grated half), the garlic, half of the chopped scallions, and the half of the eggplant that you scooped out; whir the mixture until it is smooth.
• Put the processed mixture in a crockpot and add the remaining ingredients (including the other half of the divided items), and heat on low for 2 hours; alternately you could simmer it on the stove for 30 minutes.
• This is a very rich-tasting soup, so smallish servings can be a good idea.

MEDITERRANEAN BEAN SOUP

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.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Drain black beans and place in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Add 4 cups chicken stock, onion, tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, paprika, cayenne and ground pepper; stir to combine. Add chicken. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and let cool slightly. Discard bay leaf. Add artichokes, corn, olives and salt to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Shred the chicken, discarding bones. Stir the chicken into the soup. Serve topped with parsley (or cilantro).