Fire Roasted Parmesan & White Bean Soup
A creamy tomato-and-white-bean soup simmered with a parmesan rind, herbs and spinach. The household version skips the cream and bulks it out with wheat berries and chickpeas, with lemon juice stirred in at the end.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 4 clove garlic, minced
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, 14-ounce can
- 2 can cannellini beans, 14-ounce cans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 piece parmesan rind
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus more for topping
- 5 ounce fresh spinach, frozen is fine too
- crushed red pepper, for topping, to taste
- 1 cup wheat berries
- 1 can chickpeas, 14-ounce can, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions soften a bit, for 5 minutes or so.
- Stir in the tomato paste, basil, oregano and thyme. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato paste darkens in color.
- Add in the tomatoes, beans, stock and parmesan rind. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Cover for the last 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir in the cream. Cook for 5 to 10 more minutes, stirring often, as the cheese melts and spinach wilts. Taste and season the soup additionally with salt and pepper as needed. [Household modification: no cream — skip the cream and stir in the parmesan cheese and spinach at this point; stir in the lemon juice at the end.]
- Serve immediately, topping with extra parmesan and crushed red pepper.