Roasted Garlic and Rosemary White Bean Soup

I’m pretty sure we had a summer storm roll through this morning. Like complete with loud clapping thunder and lightening.

I’m so confused. Now the sun is out and it’s 60 degrees.

It’s January, right?

This is golfing weather.

This is run outside weather.

This is run outside in shorts weather.

But it’s January, right?

 

It’s supposed to be curl up by the fire with a cookbook weather.

It’s supposed to be I’m late everywhere because I had to scrape the ice off my windshield weather.

It’s supposed to be soup weather.

So I made some. And I think you should too.

This soup is simple. It’s quick for such a flavorful soup. There’s no simmering or waiting for hours. The longest part is roasting the garlic. Oh yeah, about that…I’ve roasted 7 heads of garlic in 5 days. Heads, you guys. Not cloves. I’m not even kidding. It’s addictive. You’ve been warned. Once you’ve roasted the garlic, just a few more minutes and you’ve got a creamy, healthy, comforting dish. Creamy AND healthy? I wouldn’t lie to you. Pureed beans give the creaminess without using any cream at all. Crazy, right? Crazy like shorts in January.

Normally I’d tell you to wait for a really cold night to whip this up for dinner. Wait until you’re chilled to the bone and need to be warmed from the inside out. But I’m afraid that might not happen this winter, so I don’t think you should wait. I mean, it’s January and if you look at the calendar you can see February peeking out around the corner. February, the month of football finger foods and Valentine’s Day treats. So grab a spoon. Now is the time for soup…and flip flops.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary White Bean Soup (Inspired by Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

2 large heads of garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated
1/2 a large onion, minced
7 cups of cooked white cannellini beans (about 5 cans or 1lb dry)
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1- 3inch sprig of rosemary
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
4 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off the heads of garlic (as they are in the pictures above). Place them in aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Wrap tightly and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes. Remove, open and let cool.
2. While the garlic is roasting, in a large stock pot heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chopped onion and cook on medium heat until translucent.
3. Add 4 cups of the beans to the onion and stir. Let sit for about 5 minutes.  Add the 2 cups of broth. Stir and let simmer about 10 minutes.
4. In a blender or food processor add the remaining 3 cups of beans, the rosemary (remove stem), white pepper, thyme and 1 cup of water. Puree. If you taste this, the seasoning will be heavy but it’s getting stirred into the rest of the pot so don’t worry. You’re doing it right.
5. Once the beans on the stovetop have been simmering for 10 minutes, stir in the bean puree with two cups of water.
6. Once the garlic is cool enough to touch and you’ve mixed the bean puree into the stockpot, squeeze the head of garlic upside down over the blender or processor so the roasted cloves pop out. Add 1 cup of water and puree. It should be fluffy, white, creamy, garlic goodness. Mix that into the rest of the soup.
7. Let the soup simmer for 10 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

 

Notes:

1. I made this twice. Once with dry beans and once with cans. I added salt to the dry bean soup. I didn’t add any to the canned beans. Be sure to taste it and if it needs a little something when it’s done, just add a pinch of kosher salt.
2. Let’s talk canned bean serving size. The label said a serving size was 1/2 a cup with two servings in each can. That would lead one to believe there is 1 full cup of beans in a can. I used 5 cans (thinking it would be 5 cups). I rinsed, drained and then measured. To my surprise it was 7 cups. I’m assuming this varies depending on the brand so be sure to measure your beans.