Flageolet Bean Soup
- 1 1/2 cups dried flageolet beans (10 ounces)
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 medium garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon coarse (kosher) salt
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
- 3 fresh plum tomatoespeeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes
- 1/2 of a baguette, crust trimmed and discarded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)
- In a medium bowl, soak the beans overnight in cold water to cover.
- Drain the beans and transfer them to a large saucepan.
- Add the onion, garlic, thyme and 6 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add 2 teaspoons of the salt and continue simmering, covered, until the beans are tender, about 20 minutes longer.
- Drain.
- Transfer the beans, onion and garlic to the food processor and puree.
- Strain the puree into a saucepan, leaving the bean skins behind.
- Whisk 3 cups of the chicken stock into the puree.
- Place the tomato cubes in a colander and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
- Let drain for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 300.
- Put the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 10 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.
- Add the bread cubes and cook over moderately high heat, tossing frequently, until browned, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Shortly before serving, whisk the heavy cream into the soup and rewarm over moderate heat.
- If the soup is very thick, thin it with additional stock or water.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the soup into warm soup plates and garnish each serving with some croutons, a cluster of tomato cubes and a few parsley leaves.
flageolet beans, onion, garlic, thyme, coarse, chicken stock, cubes, olive oil, heavy cream, freshly ground pepper, flatleaf parsley
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/flageolet-bean-soup (may not work)