Rustic Rancho Gordo ‘Yellow Eye’ Bean Soup

Name: Rustic Rancho Gordo ‘Yellow Eye’ Bean Soup
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 3 cups yellow eye or yellow Indian woman beans, soaked 4 to 6 hours (see note); 1 carrot, peeled; 2 ribs celery, halved; 1 onion, quartered; 1 head garlic, halved across the equator; Stems from 1 bunch Italian parsley, tied in a cheesecloth sachet; 2 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 3 large carrots, peeled and diced; 5 ribs celery, diced; 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, diced; 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and finely grated; 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes, plus more to taste; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary; 1 cup canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, drained and chopped; 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley; Rustic bread, sliced; 1 clove garlic, halved

Recipe from Ubuntu Restaurant

Adapted by Christine Muhlke

Updated Feb. 29, 2024

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 5(321)
Comments: Read comments

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6 to 8

For the Beans

3cups yellow eye or yellow Indian woman beans, soaked 4 to 6 hours (see note)
1carrot, peeled
2ribs celery, halved
1onion, quartered
1head garlic, halved across the equator
Stems from 1 bunch Italian parsley, tied in a cheesecloth sachet
2tablespoons kosher salt
1tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
¼cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the Soup

¼cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3large carrots, peeled and diced
5ribs celery, diced
2leeks, white and light green parts only, diced
1head garlic, cloves peeled and finely grated
1½teaspoons red chili flakes, plus more to taste
2tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1cup canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, drained and chopped
½cup chopped Italian parsley
Rustic bread, sliced
1clove garlic, halved

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

For the Beans
1. Step 1
  Prepare the beans: Drain the beans and place them in a large pot. Add 3 quarts cold water, the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and parsley stem sachet. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the beans are soft and creamy, but not falling apart. (Start checking after 25 minutes; the fresher the beans, the shorter the cooking time.) Add the salt, pepper and olive oil. Discard the sachet and vegetables. Let the beans cool in the liquid.
2. Step 2
  Prepare the soup: Pour the olive oil into a large pot set over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, chili and rosemary. Cook until the rawness of the vegetables is just gone, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes more. Add the beans and their cooking liquid, bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving, add the parsley. Toast the bread slices. While still hot, rub them with the garlic halves, then tear into large pieces. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a few toasts, then drizzle with olive oil.

Tip

Rancho Gordo beans are available at ranchogordo.com and Marlow & Daughters in Brooklyn.

Ratings

5 out of 5

321 user ratings

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Comments

M Rozansky7 years ago

The soup is delicious, but there may be a typo in the ingredients. Two tablespoons of salt makes it much too salty. Try two teaspoons.

White cat7 years ago

In the beans part of the recipe, doesn't the head of garlic "halved across the equator" leave its papery peels in the beans?

Carrie7 years ago

This recipe was just missing something. Before I tweaked it, I thought the broth tasted like a sort of flat rosemary, garlic water. It definitely needed a touch of something sour, so added lemon juice from 2 Meyer lemons. I also added 1 tablespoon of dried oregano. I took some additional beans (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups) and pureed them with the bean liquid to give the broth more substance. After the changes, it was good (not great). I may make it again, but would replace tomatoes with kale.

Tia6 months ago

Very good soup. Lots of flavor and the yellow eyed beans are so pretty. I think next time I would use a little less garlic in the soup. Not something I usually say, but it was a tad sharp. I also don't like bread in my soup, so next time I plan to add a grain like rice, barley, or farro.

Tia6 months ago

Delicious! It was hard to resist eating the brothy beans after step one. They smelled so good! I followed the recipe precisely and it needs no changes. Not too salty. May be a bit spicy for some, but we thought it was perfect.

JLC6 months ago

I had a ham bone in the freezer and made a ham broth (w garlic, parsley, the green tops of the leek, and celery) that I used to cook the beans, and then added ham in at the very end. Didn’t use much salt at all, 1 tsp of Morton’s kosher salt, given that ham seemed to add plenty. Delicious!! Will definitely make again.

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