Bean Soup With Parsley Salad And Bacon
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 3cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2medium onions, peeled and diced
- 3cups dried navy beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 3quarts chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
- 2¼teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1½teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1½teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1pound slab bacon, cut into ¾-inch-thick slices, then across into ¼-inch-wide strips
- 1½cups Italian parsley, very coarsely chopped
- 6tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- ¾teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 18¼-inch-thick rounds French baguette, about 1 inch in diameter
- 1½tablespoons olive oil
- 1large head roasted garlic, cloves separated
- 1cup shaved Parmesan cheese
The Soup
The Bacon
The Parsley Salad
The Croutons
The Finishing Touches
Preparation
- Step 1
To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the beans are soft, about 1½ hours. Using a slotted spoon, remove 1½ cups of beans and place in a food processor with 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Puree until smooth and stir back into the soup. Add the salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes. Reheat before serving.
- Step 2
To make the condiments, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until well browned, pouring off excess fat as it accumulates in the skillet. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- Step 3
Toss together the parsley, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside. Brush the bread rounds with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Pile on a plate. Place the bacon, parsley salad, roasted garlic and the Parmesan in separate bowls.
- Step 4
Ladle the soup into 6 bowls. Serve, passing the condiments separately.
Private Notes
Comments
This is an exceptional bean soup. All experienced cooks can decide which of the accompaniments they want to use or not; I skipped the bacon and croutons but used the parsley salad ingredients. I believe I can always find a good bean soup, but I'm not sure I can find another one this good. I cut out the recipe years ago, way before this cooking site, and I'm working my way through all those cutout recipes--marking them here if they work so I can toss the paper.