Tuscan White Bean and Tomato Soup

When shorter days and cooler temperatures come our way, my soup pot starts getting a workout.  One recipe I make a few times a year is Tuscan White Bean and Tomato Soup, a variation I found in an issue of Bon Appétit in the 1980s.  While I no longer have the magazine in my possession, I do have an aged and stained recipe card that I’ve returned to over and over when a bowl of comfort is on the menu. If I want a gift to bring to a neighbor or a busy friend, I turned to this dish. If I have some extra ham left over after a holiday, this is the soup I make.

An All-Season Soup

This recipe began its life as part of summer menus.  It appeared in a article in Bon Appétit  that highlighted what to do when gardens are overflowing with fresh tomatoes.  Because the soup is good at room temperature, I often made it with fresh tomatoes, and we enjoyed it in summer months.  But years ago I found that it works just as well with a large can of whole tomatoes. That makes the preparation that much easier to do year-round.

One aspect of this bean soup that appeals to me is its simplicity and affordability.  Like many Tuscan foods, it uses ingredients that are basic, but become elevated through simple preparation.   I’ve read that Tuscans are sometimes referred to as mangiafagioli, or bean eaters.  Once you make this soup, you will become one, too.

While you can use canned white beans to make the soup prep a bit quicker, I usually start with dry beans.  I love the rich broth that cooking Great Northern or Cannellini beans in chicken stock and bay leaves creates.  The bean flavor is simple and a great canvas with which the flavoring vegetables and ham can play.  (If you have an extra ham bone, you can cook it along with the beans to infuse more flavor into the broth.)

Vegetables in a Winning Role

Once the beans have cooked, you prepare the vegetables in a separate pan.  First, you sauté thinly sliced onions until they’re tender, then add in sliced carrots and celery.  Next garlic and ham go into the mixture, then the tomatoes.

After the vegetable mixture cooks for a while, you blend in the beans and their liquid and let it all become one happy soup family.

When you scoop up a spoonful of soup, you’ll notice how dense with vegetables it is.  The flavors are mild but inviting.

Like other bean and tomato dishes, this soup is more tasty a day or two after it’s made, so it’s great to make ahead. I frequently make a batch, share some, and freeze smaller portions for easy dinners in the future.

Before serving, I like to squeeze the juice of a lemon wedge into the soup for a bright acidic note that enlivens the whole bowl.   A drizzle of olive oil brings another layer of flavor.  Having a hunk of bread nearby to dunk into the soup rounds out the meal.

Summer or winter, fall or spring, all seasons love this Tuscan White Bean and Tomato Soup.  And I think you will, too.

Tuscan White Bean and Tomato Soup

Dawn Dobie

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Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. dried Great Northern or Cannellini beans
• 6 cups chicken stock preferably homemade or low-sodium
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ pound yellow onions peeled and quartered vertically then thinly sliced
• 4 medium celery stalks thinly sliced
• 3 medium carrots peeled and thinly sliced
• ½ pound smoked ham coarsely diced
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 pounds about 6 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped OR 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 fresh lemon cut in wedges
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)

Instructions

 

• Pick over beans to remove rocks, debris, etc. Soak in cold water to cover by 2 inches overnight in a large bowl.
• Drain water from beans. Add drained beans, chicken stock, and bay leaves to large pot. Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer and cook until tender, about 1-2 hours. (Or cook in slow cooker on high for 6 hours or until tender.)
• Once the beans are cooked, begin to cook the vegetables. Heat oil in separate large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
• Add the celery and carrots, and continue cooking, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to color, about 5 minutes more.
• Add ham and sugar and stir for about 4 minutes.
• Add garlic and stir one additional minute.
• Stir in tomatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
• Add beans with their cooking liquid to the vegetable mixture and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Offer lemon wedges with each bowl to squeeze in before eating. If desired, drizzle each bowl with a bit of extra virgin olive oil before serving.

Notes

Can serve soup at room temperature or warm. If serving during summer months, let soup stand at room temperature several hours before serving.

This soup is better if made one or two days in advance. Cool, cover, and refrigerate, then rewarm.

Instead of using dried beans, you can used 3 15-ounce cans of cooked white beans (rinsed and drained) as a timesaver. Add the drained beans to the vegetable mixture, then add 4-6 cups of chicken broth to reach the consistency you want.

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit