White Bean Spinach Soup

How about another winter soup recipe?  Awhile back, I went looking for easy, low-fat soup recipes, and stumbled across this one.  It was a good start, but didn't quite fit our dietary preferences, so I tweaked it a bit.  Here's the finished product.  I like this soup because it's "warming" (one of those soups that just warms you through-and-through), and it's made completely of things that I always have on hand.  We just eat it as-is, but it would be awesome with a loaf of Italian bread!

White Bean Spinach Soup

2 shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups broth (veggie or chicken would work fine)

2 x 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

3 cans (or equivalent) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

16 oz bag of frozen spinach (you can use fresh, too)

2 tsp dried rosemary

black pepper

crushed red pepper

Sautee the garlic and shallots in a small amount of water, over medium heat, until they are translucent.

Separate approximately 2/3 of the beans and put into a blender with about 2 cups of the broth (I eyeball it, sorry!).  Blend together.

Add the blended bean/broth mixture, the rest of the broth, tomatoes, rosemary, and rest of the beans to the shallot/garlic mixture.  Season with black and red peppers, to taste.



Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.   Add spinach and cook until wilted (if fresh) or heated through (if frozen).   Serve hot.

That's it!  It's like a minestrone in flavour, but super easy to make, and the added beans give a great protein punch (and hold your appetite over longer).     Theo, especially, is a huge fan - he will quickly swipe your bowl when you're not looking!

Enjoy!