Tuscan White Bean Soup

Over the weekend I attempted to make homemade soup.  The recipe came from my neighbor who watches the Food Network while she cooks so I was slightly intimidated.  However, it was really good (and healthy!) when she made it so I wanted to give it a try.  I am posting the recipe the way she gave it to me with my notes in green.

Warning:  I had NO idea how expensive prosciutto was until I already placed my order at the deli counter.  Yikes.  The good news is that you don't need that much and at least beans are really cheap!  I ended up making two batches of this because I already had the pots & food processor out.  My stock pot wasn't big enough to double the recipe so I just transferred the soup to my crockpot to finish cooking while I started the next batch.  We had it for dinner and I froze two large containers.  It was time consuming, but good!  And now I have lots more for the winter.  The kids totally ate it:) 

Ingredients


For the Beans:
1 pound dried cannellini beans (I soaked the beans overnight in water)
2-4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (I used 1/4 lb)
1 yellow onion, quartered lengthwise
1-2 celery stalk, quartered crosswise (used 2)
1-2 carrot, quartered crosswise (used 2)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed (used 3 b/c I like garlic)
1 bay leaf (forgot to buy this, left out)
1 quart chicken stock
Finely ground sea salt, preferably gray salt (used kosher salt b/c that's what I had)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional
For the Bruschetta:
6 slices country-style bread, each 3/4-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil
Finely ground sea salt, preferably gray salt

For the Basil topping:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Cook the beans: Rinse the beans, place in a saucepan, and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand for about 20 minutes, then drain.

Return the beans to the saucepan along with the prosciutto, onion,celery, carrot, garlic, and bay leaf. Pour in the chicken stock and then add water as needed to cover the beans by 2 inches. *Don't be afraid to add the extra water because it's a very thick soup. Slowly bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. (If you heat them too fast, the skins may break.) Adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook, uncovered, until the beans are almost tender, 20 minutes or longer, depending on the age of the beans. Add salt, to taste, and continue cooking until the beans are tender but not mushy, about 35 minutes longer (1 hr). Remove from the heat and let the beans cool in the liquid. *I let it cook for a full hour and then cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the bruschetta: Preheat a stove-top grill pan. Place the bread slices in a single layer on the grill pan and toast until each side is crisp and has grill marks, about 6 minutes. (You can also toast the bread in a 500 degrees F oven on a baking sheet.) Remove from the pan and lightly brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil, then season lightly with salt & parmesan. Let cool.

Strain the cooled beans and other solids through a sieve, reserving the liquid. In a food processor, puree the beans and solids in batches with 3 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Using a rubber spatula, push the solids through a fine mesh sieve into a clean large saucepan (you should have about 6 cups of soup in the saucepan). *I have a really big food processor so I was able to puree 1/2 of the solids, 1/2 of the liquid and 1 T EVOO at a time.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet over high heat, warm the 1/4 cup olive oil. Turn on the fan above your stove. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn brown. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a few seconds, then add the basil. Cook until basil wilts.

To serve, ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls. Top the soup with a spoon full of the basil mixture. Serve bruschetta with each bowl, adding Parmesan, if desired.