Maybe I need to say that one of my favorite things to make and eat is soup. At one time, when I wasn’t sure if I would get the job at JWU, I considered opening a spot called “Soup and a Side,” where there would be daily soups and their perfect side companions, but without the “Soup Nazi” (from Seinfeld) attitude. I know I am not completely alone in saying I could eat soup every day, but not everyone feels the same. When the weather is cool though, I would be perfectly happy doing so. This one is a brothy, chunky soup, but you could easily puree a portion of it to make it more rich and creamy.
White Bean Potato Soup
Equipment
- Heavy gauge stainless steel sauce pot or rondeau
- wooden spoon
- ladle
- small bowl
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Chef knife
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- ½ onion, cut macedoine or ¼ inch dice (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, cut macedoine or ¼ inch dice (about 1 cup)
- 2 carrots, 1/8-inch rondelle (or rounds) (about 1 cup)
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ tsp kosher salt maybe more at the end
- ½ tsp black pepper maybe more at the end
- 1 14-ounce package Smoked Sausage, cut in ¼-inch rondelles
- 12 ounces baby Yukon gold potatoes, cut in ¼-inch rondelles
- 6 cups vegetable broth (organic, low-sodium or homemade)
- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 ounces baby kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme, finely chopped
Possible Garnishes:
- sourdough croutons
- shaved parmesan
- finely chopped scallions
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Prepare all of the mise en place.
- In saucepot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery) and cook until lightly browned.
- Then add the garlic and stir well so the garlic doesn’t burn. Cook just until you smell the garlic – about two minutes.
- Season with the salt and pepper.
- Add the sausage rounds and sauté until lightly browned, stirring so the vegetables do not get very dark.
- Add the vegetable stock, potato rounds, bay leaf and chopped thyme.
- Once it comes to a simmer, turn the heat to medium low.
- Cook until the potatoes are tender – about 20 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender, turn the heat to medium-high and add the kale and beans.
- Simmer to reduce a bit.
- As it reduces, there will be some fat and foam of impurities that rise to the top. Use the ladle to depouillage (skim) this off the top and put in the small bowl to cool and throw away.
- When soup reduces for about 15 minutes, it should be ready.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- This is a brothy version, but you can remove part of it to blend it and then stir back into the brothy part, if you prefer a thicker soup.
This recipe is super easy to veganize. Either leave out the sausage or use a plant-based one. Impossible Foods and Beyond both make a brat-style sausage that would be tasty in this. Also, no shaved parmesan for garnish, obviously. Other than that, it is vegan.
Here is the link for the sourdough croutons, if you want them for garnish:
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