Description
A hearty and flavorful Simple Bean Soup featuring cannellini beans simmered with aromatic herbs, garlic, and tomato passata, finished with a fresh parsley and hazelnut picada. This vegetarian Spanish-inspired dish is comforting, nutritious, and perfect served with crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Bean Soup:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 large brown onion, finely chopped (~180g/6oz)
- 1/4 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1/8 tsp dried thyme)
- 1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/8 tsp dried rosemary)
- 1 fresh bay leaf (or 1/2 dried bay leaf)
- 1/3 cup tomato passata
- 4 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained
- 3 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade or low sodium store bought
Picada (makes 4 tbsp):
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 medium garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup whole hazelnuts with skin (or almonds)
- 1/2 tsp cooking or kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
Instructions
- Saute onion and herbs: Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, finely chopped onion, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring regularly, for 8 minutes until the onions are a deep golden brown and sweet.
- Cook tomato passata: Add the tomato passata to the pot and cook over low heat for another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato changes from red and watery to dark brown and very thick. This step is key for developing deep flavor.
- Simmer: Stir in the drained cannellini beans followed by the vegetable stock. Adjust the heat so the soup bubbles very gently and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to blend flavors.
- Blitz: Transfer 2/3 cup (150 ml) of the soup into a suitable jug or jar for use with a stick blender. Blitz until smooth, then stir this mixture back into the pot to thicken the broth.
- Prepare Picada: Meanwhile, preheat a small skillet over medium heat. Add hazelnuts and toast them, shaking the skillet regularly, until golden and fragrant. Transfer toasted hazelnuts to a clean tea towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skin. Roughly chop hazelnuts and combine in a jar with parsley, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Blitz with a stick blender until it resembles a coarse pesto.
- Stir in Picada: Just before serving, stir 2 tablespoons of the prepared picada into the soup. Taste and add more salt if necessary depending on the saltiness of your beans.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and dollop each serving with 1 teaspoon of the remaining picada. Serve immediately with crusty bread such as easy artisan or French brioche for best enjoyment.
Notes
- Passata is a smooth, strained tomato puree commonly found in supermarkets and is thicker and less chunky than canned tomatoes.
- Any white beans such as navy, lima, or butter beans can substitute cannellini beans. Other beans like kidney or black beans will work but may alter the soup color.
- If using dried beans, soak 2.5 cups of dried white beans in plenty of water for 5 to 24 hours, then cook until tender before adding to the soup.
- Vegetable stock quality greatly impacts flavor; homemade stock is preferred but low sodium store-bought stock is an acceptable substitute.
- Adjust salt carefully since canned beans contain salt; add additional salt gradually to taste.
- The recipe originally includes clams, which can be added 5 minutes before the end for a seafood variation, but this vegetarian version is delicious on its own.
- Cooked soup can be stored for up to 4 days; picada loses some freshness when stirred in but the topping picada should be used within 2 days due to raw garlic.
- Serve with crusty bread to complement the rich, thick texture of the soup.
