I absolutely love making soup – its the best recipe to be creative and the easiest to fix should your creativity take an odd turn. I have so many soup recipes on here but let me tell you why this one is exciting for me.
For about the past 2 years, we’ve been bean free. Rich is doing the plant paradox diet and it says no legumes – unless they’re pressure cooked. I abhor redundant kitchen appliances and as such have avoided buying an instant pot, seeing as I already own a slow cooker. Finally I found a pressure cooker for 20$ at Target (just looks like a large saucepan) and found the space to store it. I’ve used it weekly since. Why? Because beans are the BEST and now I can cook them again. There’s been hummus, black bean soup, and chickpea salads galore.
When scanning Pinterest I saw a soup that called for white beans, lemon and one ingredient I’d never put in soup before – tahini. Well, due to the hummus making I had plenty on hand. It makes the soup sort of creamy and with the lemon, its honestly just so good. I made two bowls to take the photo and then ate them both.
This also makes a big pot which, if you’re not on board with eating the same thing three nights in a row like we are, you can portion out and freeze. I typically don’t do soups sans meat for dinner but with all these beans, it’s still chockfull of protein. If you have a “must have meat at dinner” philosophy (which, we should have a talk) then this would be a perfect lunch option.
White Bean Soup with Kale and Tahini
Serves 10
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, diced
5 large (or 7 small) carrots, peeled and diced
4-5 large stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
9 c. chicken or vegetable broth
7 c. well chopped kale or baby spinach
6 c. cannellini beans, drained (2 c. dried beans or 4, 15 oz. cans)
1/4 c. well stirred tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
Optional – grated pecorino romano or parm. reggiano for topping, along with fresh parsley
- Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, about five minutes.
- Add salt, pepper and herbs and stir to combine – let cook until vegetables are tender, 3 or 4 minutes more.
- Add broth and if using kale, add with broth. Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer and add spinach (if using) along with beans and tahini. Stir to combine.
- Remove pot from heat and add lemon juice. Stir and taste for seasoning. Serve with optional cheese/parsley.
