Garlicky, Herbaceous Potato, Leek, White Bean Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon, sliced into lardons (small pieces, 1/2 inch wide-ish) (if no bacon, 3 tablespoons butter)
- 1 large leek (or 2 small ones), white and light green parts only, thoroughly rinsed and julienned
- 3 cups vegetable stock (chicken okay, if using canned broth, try going for low-sodium)
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 3 potatoes the size of a child's fist diced into inch cubes(yukon gold or red bliss reccomended)
- 2 12-ounce cans cannellini drained and rinsed (aka white kidney beans, feel free to substitute reconstituted dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- Parmesan rind (optional)
- 1 tablespoon savory
- Salt and Pepper
- Parsley, Parmesan, Cracked pepper (to serve)
How to make Garlicky, Herbaceous Potato, Leek, White Bean Soup
- Bring a good sized saucepan to medium-high heat and add the lardons. Allow them to render slightly, get a little bit crispy.
- Add the sliced leeks and saute for about 6-7 minutes until they get softened.
- Add the garlic, stir and heat for about 1 minute until the garlic starts to pale.
- Add the stock, water, potatoes, bay leaves, parmesan rind, thyme, a pinch of salt and three pinches of pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow if to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes become fork tender.
- Add the cannellini and milk and continue simmering for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaves. At this point you can leave it as it is, mush up the potatoes and beans a bit with a spoon, or puree it to your heart's content with an immersion blender.
- Serve with a healthy grating of parmesan, a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and cracked black pepper to taste.
- Add spinach, kale, broccoli rabe, collard greens, belgian endive, or other greens along with the cannellinini.
- Substitute 3 tablespoons olive oil for the lardons, a few chopped tomatoes for the beans, and curry powder/paste for the savory, bay, and parmesan.
“Any other variations you can think of?”