Two-Bean Soup with Greens, Rosemary, and Thyme

My husband laughs at me every time I take photos of my food, which is often, because I never actually take the time to share with you all of my delectable discoveries. Well, I'm trying to change that. This soup inspired me to change that. It's delicious!

Tasked to make soup for a school function, I found inspiration on none other than Pinterest, and took a liking to a "Creamy Two-Bean Soup with Spinach, Rosemary, and Thyme" {yes, yes, and yes, please!} by All Four Burners, a fun blog all about yummy food.

I made a few tweaks, as I do often, and then discovered a go-to soup that I foresee pleasing many o' belly in the near future...

First you chop up a bunch of shallots {I did eight large ones} and an onion, and saute them in olive oil in a medium-sized pot for about 15-20 minutes, until they are gorgeously golden. Then you add in some fresh rosemary and thyme {about 1 1/2 Tbsp each} that you've chopped nice and fine.

 
After all those flavors have been blended together for a minute or two, you add two cans of rinsed garbanzo beans, two cans of rinsed white beans, and five cups of low-sodium broth.

 
Bring that to a boil and then simmer it for at least 30 minutes, if not an hour or three. Pull out half the soup and puree it, then dump it back in with the rest of the soup. {The original recipe suggested pureeing the whole soup - thus the "creamy" soup - but mine had a hummus consistency and I liked the idea of seeing the whole beans and shallots/onions, so I only did half. If serving to my kids, I might puree the whole thing. They aren't bean fans, yet.}

Just before serving, add in 6 to 12 ounces of chopped baby spinach {organic if you can - it's on the FDA's Top 10} or any other wiltable {not a word, but it should be} green. Season with a good pinchful {am I just making up words right and left?!} or two of sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and a long drizzle of olive oil.
 

 
This picture makes it look like it has turmeric in it or something - not sure what happened there - but it doesn't. You could serve it with shaved Parmesan though.

So good. So. Good. Here are the specifics...

Two-Bean Soup with Greens, Rosemary, and Thyme
Servings: 6-8 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons + 4 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped shallots 

1 large white onion, chopped

1 1/2-2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2-2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

5 cups low-salt vegetable or chicken broth

2 15.5 ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed

2 15.5 ounce cans garbanzo beans {chickpeas}, drained and rinsed

6 to 12 ounce {6-8 large handfuls} baby spinach leaves, beet green, chard, kale, etc.

Sea salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots and onion and sauté until golden, about 15-20 minutes. Add rosemary and thyme; stir 1-2 minutes. Add broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce and simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, but up to 3 hours.

Pull out half the soup and puree until smooth. Return puree to the pot and stir in spinach/greens until wilted, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining olive oil over each individual serving.

Adapted from All Four Burners, who adapted it from Bon Appetit

enjoy.

molly