Pureed White Bean Soup With Pistou
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound white beans, soaked for six hours (or overnight) and drained
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh sage
- 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water, as needed (or 2 1/2 quarts water and up to 2 cups milk as needed)
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper
- About 1/3 cup pistou
- Garlic croutons for garnish (optional)
- Combine the onion, garlic, drained beans, bay leaf, sage and 2 1/2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
- Add salt to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours, until the beans are very tender and the broth is fragrant.
- Remove the bay leaf and sage sprig.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing) until it is very smooth.
- Return to the pot, heat through, add freshly ground pepper and adjust salt.
- Thin out as desired with water or milk.
- Ladle the soup into bowls.
- Stir the pistou, and if it is very stiff, thin out with a little olive oil so that you can drizzle it into each bowl and it wont just fall in as a clump.
- Put about 2 teaspoons on each bowl, add a few garlic croutons if desired, and serve.
- Diners should stir the pistou into the soup for the best flavor.
onion, garlic, white beans, bay leaf, sage, water, salt, freshly ground pepper, pistou, garlic
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12181 (may not work)