While not as quick as opening a red & white can and adding water, this quick bean soup is tasty and takes about an hour and a half from start to finish. Most of the time is inactive as the soup simmers, so you can get other things done while the soup cooks. And there’s no soaking – using canned beans makes this recipe ultra-convenient and can probably be made with things you usually have on hand.
Makes about four one-cup servings.
Ingredients
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2 15-ounce cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
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1 carrot, peeled, diced
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1 stalk celery, trimmed, diced
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1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
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1 quart vegetable stock
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2 cups water
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2 whole allspice
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2 bay leaves
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1/4 tsp dried thyme
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2 tbsp tomato paste
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1 tbsp canola oil
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2 tsp kosher salt
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1 tsp ground black pepper
Method
Drain the beans in a colander. Rinse and set aside.
Dice the carrot, celery and onion.
In a 3.5 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery and onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the vegetable stock, water, beans, allspice, bay leaves, thyme, tomato paste, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.
Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if desired.
Remove the allspice and bay leaves. Puree the soup with a stick blender to desired consistency. Simmer for 10-15 minutes more until slightly thickened. Serve.
Tips: After adding the stock, pour the water into the box or can that the stock was in, swirl it around and add it to the soup to capture the residual flavors. You could also use six cups of water and vegetable stock cubes if you don’t have vegetable stock on hand.
I keep a tube of tomato paste in the refrigerator so I don’t have to open a whole can just for a couple tablespoons. Tomato paste in tubes can usually be found at Trader Joe’s, at Italian grocery stores and in the canned tomato section of many supermarkets.