- 6
- 40 mins
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried white cannellini beans
- Bacon Strips (4-6)
- 4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions) 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large branch fresh rosemary (6 to 7 inches)
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup half & half (or) light cream
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Step 1
In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1-inch and leave them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
In a large stockpot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon, break into bits, and set aside. Remove all but 2 TB of bacon grease. Add onions to pot with the olive oil and cook over low to medium heat until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf. Pass the soup through the coarsest blade of a food mill, or place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Add cream. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot and topped with leftover bacon bits.