White bean and parmesan soup

Aaaaaand we went back to the 30’s. We all knew it was too good to last but did you see the weekend forecast? My goodness this winter has been easy on us.

These back and forth days are perfect for lighted up comfort food. I’m getting a little tired of all the braised meat and heavy sauces so when a new lighter soup catches my eye I know it’s just the thing for those weird in between days that we will be teeter tottering back and forth with for the next few months. You know that’s how it goes.

What caught my eye with this particular soup was not only the beautiful chunks of tomatoes and bright green spinach but that the white beans were simmered with ….. wait for it …. parmesan rinds. Oh yes, you heard correctly. You basically make a parmesan rind broth. Have you ever heard of anything so glorious? 

I didn’t think so.

Lots of fresh herbs and an onion also head into the broth and that’s basically it. Love simplistic recipes that just nail it. And this white bean and parmesan soup is exactly that.

Give it a try this weekend that is, if you aren’t out at your grill making burgers.  You never know in Chicago.

WHITE BEAN AND PARMESAN SOUP
Recipe adapted from Real Simple

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 lbs dried cannellini beans (soaked for 8 hours or over night)
4 cups veggie stock
10 cups water
3 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, sage
bay leaf
1 onion, skin removed and halved
6 ounces parmesan rinds
salt & pepper
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained, and broken up with your hands
few good handfuls of fresh spinach
parmesan cheese, for topping

DIRECTIONS

Soak your beans for eight hours in water, drain.

In a big pot go your soaked beans, stock, water, herbs, onion, and rinds. Bring to a boil then lower to low, cover, and simmer for an hour.

Remove lid, add in 2 TBS salt, and simmer (covered) another 30-45 minutes or until beans are tender.
Strain your soup – remove herbs, rinds, and large onion chunks if you’d like.

Add in tomatoes and simmer a bit more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Right before serving add in fresh spinach and top each bowl with parmesan.

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Courtney

Courtney is a wife to M and a mom of two boys, L (8) and B (3). Most of her blogging is done frantically during nap time in between laundry, cleaning, and the occasional housewives rerun. Or the brief hour or so that she can stay awake after the boys go down for the night. She loves her sleep. Read more...

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