Simple Italian bean soup
A simple Italian bean soup is the recipe that you need when you don't have a lot of time to cook or shop. The ingredients are mostly pantry staples and the fresh herbs might grow in your garden or you can replace them with dry herbs. Simple doesn't mean the soup is flavourless or not comforting. This soup is all about heart-warming and satisfying. So start cooking and don't think you can skip the gremolata, it elevates the soup.
Ingredients
- Soup ingredients
- 1 Tblsp olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped, leaves finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 100 g tomato paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 x 400 g Cannellini beans, rinsed
- 2 x 400 g Barlotti beans, rinsed
- 3 Knorr chicken or vegetable stock pot
- 750 ml boiling water
- salt and pepper to taste
- gremolata ingredients
- 20 g parsley, finely chopped
- 2 fat garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tblsp olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large post over medium heat.
- Add the onions, herbs and cook, stirring regularly, for 8-10 minutes.
- Put in the garlic, tomato paste and sugar and cook over LOW heat for 8-10 minutes. Stirring in between.
- Then add the beans, stock pots and water and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering away mix all the gremolata ingredients (lemon zest only) in a bowl.
- Check the seasoning of the soup and add some salt and /or pepper if necessary.
- Divide the soup between 4 plates, top each plate with a spoon of gremolata and serve with some crusty bread on the side. Pure pleasure!
- TIP: I like to serve the soup with a toasted slice of sourdough bread, drizzled with olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese on top, in the middle of the plate.