When I was a child I hated beans. No wait, let me rephrase that. Not just hated, despised. On nights when beans were served, my mom would make my brother and me sit at the table until we finished every last bean on our plates and sometimes we’d sit there for hours. We didn’t have a dog to help in our demise and the cat was as turned off by the whole ordeal as we were so she was no assistance in the bean disposal department. My brother eventually developed this ingenious idea to declare an “emergency bathroom break” immediately after taking a huge bite of said round nuggets and would magically come back with a cleansed palate. I still owe my brother one for his shrewd method of bean extraction.
I’m not sure what happened between childhood and today, but at some point in time, unbeknownst to me, my palate adapted, ate a bean, and declared it good. Now I suddenly find myself cooking with beans on a weekly basis and dare I say, enjoying it. Fortunately two of my three kiddos enjoy the beans with me. One, Nicholas, does not. Life experience has taught me that forcing a bean despiser hater to eat beans does absolutely nothing for expanding the palate and only causes said child to have a sore bum from spending too much time seated at the table with no dog for assistance. So, for now, I allow Nicholas to bypass the beans in the hopes that one day, he too will declare beans good.
And so, this soup is in honor of beans. Plain and simple. There aren’t many bells and whistles in the recipe. Just what it takes to highlight my gratitude for a sometimes under acknowledged, non-meat, healthy as all get out, protein source that with time and appreciation, I have truly come to enjoy.
Grab your bowl and let’s cook up some Simply Bean Soup.
Start out by melting a little butter and adding in some onion and garlic. Such a delicious way to start a recipe, don’t you think?
Now add in the star of the show. Bring on the beans. And a few herbs for added flavor wouln’t hurt either.
Add in your liquid next; a little white wine and stock will do nicely.
Let it warm up a bit and then emulsify the soup to make it nice and smooth. Add in a little sherry to accent the flavor of your beans, season it up with salt and pepper, and that’s it.
Tried and true bean appreciation. It’s as simple as that.
Simply Bean Soup
Total Time: 20 min
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Small Onion, Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
3 15.8 Oz. Cans White Beans, Rinsed and Drained
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, Chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme
1 Cup White Wine
3 Cups Veggie or Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Sherry
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat.
Add in the onion and garlic and let it cook up for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the beans and the fresh herbs.
Next up, add in the wine and broth.
Allow the mixture a few minutes to heat back up and then turn the heat down a notch to medium low.
Smooth out the soup either with an emulsifier or in batches in your blender.
Stir in the sherry and add salt and pepper to taste.
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Simple and comforting…love it!
Fantastic! I love beans any way you prepare them. Add a nice, fresh salad and some bread and you have a great meal for a cool, rainy evening.
oooh, this is good comfort food my friend!
I didn’t like beans either but now love them. This looks so good, quick and simple : )
Ooh, this looks so good. I’m thinking a fistful of crusty bread and a spring greens salad would be so delicious with this soup!
I love the simplicity of this soup! And yes, I completely agree that onions and garlic are the perfect way to start not just a soup but almost any recipe. =)
It’s funny how the palate changes from childhood to adulthood. Things I despised in the past that now I love: salad (in general); spinach; beans (yep).
I was the exact same way. When I was little, my mom used to make a Navy Bean Soup that I HATED, I just couldn’t choke it down. Today, white bean soups are some of my favorites! This looks wonderful.
These creamy soups (“cremas”) are really popular in mexico! My favorites are broccoli and corn! I could probably get into a bean one as well.
I still hate beans, but I do like refried beans smeared on a “torta”… so that’s an improvement.
Love beans. Will have to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Simple can be complicated and full of flavors. This is a beautiful soup Julie! Ideal for a family meal!
I know a bunch of adults that don’t like beans either. It’s funny how we each have our own strong opinions about food. The soup looks great – the herb combination looks really tasty.
That’s how I was with vegetables. I definitely came up with some creative ways to get rid of them. So what does poor Nicholas eat when you make this delicious and hearty looking soup?
Julie replied: — March 16th, 2011 @ 4:07 pm
We also had salad and soda bread. He loves salad, so he just helped himself to a larger helping. 🙂
I love simple meals 🙂
Great herb flavors, I love it! Have a happy Wednesday 🙂
I love your idea of blending the soup at the end. As I got an e-mail with this post, I was posting a recipe for bean soup on my blog. I guess this end of the winter weather just cries out for bean soup!
Im with Nicholas! LOL! Beans and me, we only meet a few times a year. I still pick out all the beans from Mexican Meat dishes, Salads, and where ever else my friends and family try to disguise them. LOL! 🙂 Bless him, standing his ground, good he eats the salad and Soda bread though. I remember one time as a kid, my parents served something that had beans in it, white ones they were, I just couldn’t seem to get it across I wasn’t a bean fan, so I…. ooooppps…. stuffed them down the back of my dad’s recliner…. You can imagine how that ended?! 🙂
Love your pictures, where can I find one of those cute little pots? the colour is gorgeous.
Simply super!
🙂 Mandy
I love the creaminess of white beans, especially when paired with rosemary in a velvety soup like this.
yumm….always have loved beans…and my mother rarely made them..haha! i love how simple this is..but so hearty too.
i don’t think there was ever a time when i didn’t like beans. i can, however, think of many times when the beans didn’t like me… 🙂
great soup!
I’m so glad that your childhood relationship with beans didn’t turn in to a lifelong food trauma. I love the way that you and your brother plotted clever ways to deal with the nefarious legumes on your plates.
Your soup sounds wonderful, and I could certainly use a bowl on this cold and rainy day!
I was kind of neutral about beans as a kid but love them now. This soup looks so delicious!
I don’tn like beans either, but for me it’s a texture thing. As soon as I saw that this soup was blended, I knew I wanted to try it. I like the idea of eating beans because I know they’re healthy and I can’t wait to make this soup!
I love beans – can’t wait to try your soup!!