Cozy, creamy and bursting with flavor, this white bean soup is like a taste of Tuscany! While I love puréeing the entire pot to a smooth, silky consistency, it’s also possible to leave some texture intact if that’s your preference. In other words, you can either eat the soup in its whole-bean glory as soon as it finishes cooking, or you can scoop out half of the beans with a slotted spoon, purée what remains in the slow cooker and then add the whole beans back. If you do blend up all of the soup, however, it’s okay to splash in some extra chicken broth to thin things out a bit. Finally, be sure to season your soup with salt and pepper before serving (salt at the beginning of the cooking time can toughen the beans, so it’s best to save it for the end), and don’t leave off the ever-important garnish—because if everything’s better with bacon, this soup is perfect with pancetta!
YIELD: 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 lb (454 g) dried great Northern beans, picked over, rinsed and drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups (1.7 L) low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if desired
¾ tsp dried sage
¾ tsp dried rosemary
1 dried bay leaf
⅓ cup (54 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
¼ cup (60 ml) half-and-half
1 ½ tsp (8 ml) white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 oz (56 g) diced pancetta, cooked until crispy
Crusty Italian bread, for serving
Combine the beans, garlic, chicken broth, sage, rosemary and bay leaf in a large slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until beans are very tender.
Discard the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. Blend in the Parmesan, half-and-half and white wine vinegar, and season with the salt, ¼ teaspoon at a time, and pepper to taste. If desired, adjust the consistency of the soup by blending in additional chicken broth or half-and-half. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 15 more minutes, until the soup is heated through.
To cook the pancetta, heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced pancetta and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until it is crisp. Drain on a paper towel–lined plate. (If you prefer, cooked and chopped bacon may be substituted for the pancetta in this recipe.)
Serve the soup with additional Parmesan cheese, the diced pancetta on top and some crusty Italian bread on the side.
Samantha’s Tip
If you can’t find dried great Northern beans for this recipe, you may substitute dried navy beans. However, do not use dried cannellini beans, a.k.a. white kidney beans, unless you are willing to pre-boil them on the stove first in order to ensure that they are safe to eat (see Red Beans and Rice for Samantha’s Tip regarding safe bean preparation).