Friday, January 21, 2011

Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup with Chicken

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Thank goodness for the Le Creuset in this photo...its glistening cobalt blue porcelain enamel makes the ho-hum appearance of the featured soup...down right appealing!

And after all... this Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup with Chicken (while not the prettiest on the block) stands for just about everything that is wholesome homemade cooking!

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The soup's story begins with a 6 1/2 lb chicken I roasted for dinner on a Sunday afternoon. The meat we didn't eat was picked off the bone and chopped, yielding 6+ cups of chicken.  The bones from the chicken were simmered down (with the likes of carrot, onion and celery) yielding 20+ cups of stock!

The small white navy beans started out dry ~ they were rinsed, picked over and cooked until soft.

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The bulbs of garlic were roasted with olive oil...into a super concentrated paste.

The rosemary and thyme came direct from the garden.

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So I won't always make soup completely from scratch...

But as the old saying goes..."When life gives you lemons chicken bones, make lemonade a chicken soup."

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Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup with Chicken
*You could omit the chicken all together and you'd be left w/a delicious Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup...but I had chicken to use!!!

Ingredients:

1 lb Dry Small White Navy Beans, picked over, rinsed and cooked until soft (or substitute canned beans)
2 cups leftover Roasted Chicken, chopped
4 cups homemade Chicken Stock (or substitute store bought)
2 cups onion, chopped
2 small bulbs or 1 large, Roasted Garlic (squeeze the garlic paste out of its skin)
1 small bunch of fresh thyme sprigs, tied together w/kitchen twine
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon Savory
1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook up Navy beans in water until soft...drain.

While beans are cooking, roast 2 hole heads of garlic in the oven. Squeeze out the garlic paste into a small bowl and set aside.

In a large heavy pot with lid, saute onion up in a bit of olive oil.

Add savory, red pepper flakes, rosemary and thyme.

Add cooked beans, garlic paste and chicken stock. Stir together.

Bring to a boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer 20-30 minutes (just make sure your beans are soft and cooked completely)

When finished, remove rosemary sprig and thyme bundle.

At this point you could either add your chicken, stir and eat as is...OR puree soup with an emulsion blender and then add your chicken meat. I did the latter because as some of you know...I'm obsessed with my emulsion blender!!!

Salt and Pepper to taste and be sure to serve with a side of crusty bread!

13 comments:

Clint said...

This is a seriously wonderful dish. No kiddin'.

About 10 years ago I had this dish (not as pretty as yours!) and could not stop eating! It was the longest night in my life, one that is etched into my soul. So---please warn your readers to dine in moderation on this masterpiece.

Unknown said...

What a great soup, I bet the falvor is fantastic.

laurie said...

First of all, I love that cobalt blue dish!

Second..that soup looks perfect..what a great recipe!

Mary Bergfeld said...

I love a good bean soup and this one sounds better than good. It is perfect for this cold Oregon day. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Brownieville Girl said...

looks like soup perfection to me!!

I really like the roasted garlic in there.

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Mmm soup!! Homemade chicken stock! LOVE IT! The soup sounds really delicious - I'll have to make it soon. And I love the Le Crueset in the photo, beautiful splash of color. I'd give my eye teeth for one of those babies! Ok maybe I wouldn't give my eye teeth but I sure do want one LOL

Unknown said...

Thank guys for your comments! As for the Le Creuset...we got ours for our wedding almost 9 years ago! Talk about a heavily used pot! They're pricy but if you can do it...it's worth every penny!

chow and chatter said...

looks like its packed with flavor though thanks for the congrats will be fun for her to have a sibling

Joanne said...

As soon as you said roasted garlic, I knew this soup would be my kind of meal. It may be a very bland shade of white but it is definitely not bland when it comes to flavor!

Katerina said...

I love the whole setting around the soup, especially the slices of bread. This is how I would eat this beautiful soup.

Simply Life said...

oh YUM! - what a perfect soup!

The Food Hound said...

Love each and every flavor of this soup!! Any piece of bread would be lucky to have itself dipped in it :) So warm for cold weather :)

Nuts about food said...

I love love love the idea of white bean and roasted garlic soup in my new Le Creuset pot! Not that I don't like the idea of chicken, but when I roast one in my house, there is nothing left. I know, it is primitive but we suck on the bones too! So no chicken in my soup...unless I get lucky.