Northern Bean Soup

This soup was inspired from the bean ragout in my recipe Salmon with a Rustic Bean Ragout, which is a savory soup that screams comfort food! 

Ingredients

Soup
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 sliced medium yellow onion
1 stalk of celery diced
1 bag of matchstix carrots
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs of rosemary (do not remove from stem)
2 14 oz. cans of 99% fat free chicken broth
4 15 oz. cans of organic northern beans (drained)
1/2 1b of sausage (your choice, Italian mild, Italian hot, or even a chorizo)
Additional sprigs of rosemary for garnish
Croistini
Thinly sliced baguette
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 glove of minced garlic or 1 cube of dorat garlic

Technique

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and sauté until tender. Add beans, broth, rosemary and bay leaves. Let simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove sausage from casing and cook in a small skillet over medium heat until browned throughout. Try to make small pieces by cutting the larger ones with your spatula or wooden spoon while cooking. Set aside. Remove sprigs of rosemary and bay leaves. Then pour half of the soup into the blender and the other half in a separate mixing bowl. Blend in batches and transfer each blended batch back into the pot. Return pot to the stove and simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sausage, rosemary and croistini.

For Croistini, combine minced garlic and olive oil together. Brush each sliced baguette and place onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Suggested Beverage

Try J. Lohr Paso Robles Merlot (California), Summation Red Wine Bland by Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve (California), The Libertine Red Table Wine by Mayo Family Winery (Sonoma County) or Rodney Strong Pinot Noir (California).