White Bean Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons & Fresh Basil

White Bean Rosemary Soup with Jumbo Croutons & Fresh Basil

White Bean Soup (in foreground)

This soup is captivating, with olive-oil drizzled croutons that soften slowly into a mellow, rosemary infused soup.  Recipe is from eat, drink & be vegan.

1 - 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 - 1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 cups cooked white kidney (cannellini) beans (see note)
3 cups vegetable stock (I use Harvest Sun brand)
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp fresh rosemary, Chopped
2 - 2 1/2 tbsp lemon Juice
1 batch "Jumbo Croutons" (p.82, or below)
1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced in thin strips or chopped
1 -2 tbsp olive oil (for finishing)

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, garlic, dry mustard, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 cups beans, stock, water, and 1 1/2 tsp rosemary, and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. With a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. Stir in remaining 2 cups beans, remaining 1/2 tsp rosemary, and lemon juice. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Sirve in individual bowls, topped with a handful of Jumbo Croutons, sprinkle of fresh basil, and drizzle of olive oil if desired.


Serves 5 - 6.

Note: Since this soup uses a lot of beans, I prefer cooking the white beans from dried rather than canned because they taste fresher, but certainly canned work fine too.

Jumbo Croutons
5-6 slices bread (your choice, can use artisan, multigrain, kamut, spelt)
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut bread slices into 1 inch squares.  In a large bowl, toss cubes with oil.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and transfer bread onto sheet, then sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 9-12 minutes, tossing once or twice throughout, until lightly browned.  For crunchier croutons, bake for 2-3 minutes longer.

Mellow Lentil Soup

From 

Dreena's Vegan Recipes

MAKES 5–6 SERVINGS. WHEAT-FREE

1–1½ tbsp olive oil
1½ cups onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
¾ cup carrots, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¾–1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp dried thyme
2 cups dry red lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
4–4½ cups water
2½–3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (see note)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder, paprika, and dried thyme and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rinse lentils. Add lentils, stock, and water and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12–15 minutes. Add rosemary and simmer for another 8–10 minutes or more, until lentils are completely softened. Stir in vinegar, season to taste with additional salt and black pepper if desired.

Cooking Note: Fresh rosemary is exquisite in this soup, but if you don’t have it, you can use dried. However, add it at the beginning of the cooking process, along with the other dried spices, and use less—about 1 tsp.