Best Mediterranean White Bean Soup Recipes

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 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.