White-Bean Soup With Pesto

Name: White-Bean Soup With Pesto
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Four servings
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped; 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced; 1 small leek (white part only), cleaned and finely chopped; 8 ounces dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in water; 7 cups vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned; 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes; 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 1/2 cups loosely packed basil leaves; 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped; 2 cloves garlic, peeled; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/4 cup water; 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to tast

By Molly O'Neill

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Rating: 4(80)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: FOOD; Sorcery on the Side

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Ingredients

Yield:Four servings

The Soup

2teaspoons olive oil
1small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1clove garlic, peeled and minced
1small leek (white part only), cleaned and finely chopped
8ounces dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in water
7cups vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
1baking potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
2tablespoons minced fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

The Pesto

1½cups loosely packed basil leaves
1large shallot, peeled and chopped
2cloves garlic, peeled
1tablespoon olive oil
¼cup water
⅛teaspoon salt, plus more to tast

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and leek and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook until beans are almost tender, about 1 hour. Stir in potato cubes. Cook until potato and beans are soft, about 20 minutes. Stir in thyme, salt and pepper.
Step 2
Meanwhile, to make the pesto, place basil, shallots and garlic in a food processor. Process until chopped. Add olive oil and water. Process until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down sides of work bowl. Season with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with 2 teaspoons of the pesto and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

80 user ratings

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Comments

bland pesto7 years ago

If you make this, definitely add some red wine vinager or fresh lemon juice to the pesto... It needs it desperately. I'm in the process of making this, but I think the soup will be okay if it's kind of bland as long as you have the pesto on top!

Probably also going to puree the soup to make it creamy.

LouiseS3 years ago

This is great even without the pesto. I threw in a handful of Swiss chard at the end because I had it, and served it with Parmesan cheese.

bland pesto7 years ago

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