Monday, February 27, 2006

Bean soup

We were in a soup mood last week, so today I am posting one more comforting concoction. I like beans a lot, especially chickpeas and white beans, so when I saw this recipe I immediately copied it and placed in on top of the never-ending-to-try-pile. And I am glad I did! It is a very simple but flavorful soup. I like white beans because they are creamy and almost melt in your mouth, and chickpeas I believe is one of my all time favorites. It has such a nice flavor and is versatile, as it can be prepared in many different ways, you can varying its texture by cooking it more or less, use it soaked raw when preparing falafels, cooked into soups, pureed into hummus (yum!), you can even roast it and turn them into crunchy salty snacks.
In this dish a combination of both beans is used and then pureed into a nice velvety soup! I wasn’t sure about the addition of spinach but it ended up complementing the soup nicely. I really enjoyed it and so did Matheus. But don’t be fooled by the 8-servings the recipe states, as I believe they are supposed to be really small portions. I made half recipe, we ate it all and ended up wanting some more… oh well, next time I will definitely make the whole batch!
Right now I am in a quest to find a tasty recipe for a “Milk-free Egg-Free Nut-free Cake”. Yes, I know, it seems like a lot of no-no, but as far as my testing are going I think I may actually be getting close to what I need. So, you can expect to see some cake recipes around here soon!
Ana


Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs And Spinach

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 to 16-ounce cans white beans -- drained
2 to 16-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- drained
1 package baby spinach leaves -- (6 ounce)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
Makes 8 first-course servings
Bon Appétit, January 2006

4 comments:

Karen said...

Ana, vi que você está em busca de um bolo sem ovos e leite. Você já deu uma olhada nesta receita do blog Bakingsheet? http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/01/cooking-school-eggless-chocolate-bundt.html

Ele leva chocolate, mas talvez ele possa ser suprimido.
Abraços,
karen

Karen said...

Desculpe, Ana. Não quando colei o endereço parte dele sumiu. Mas a receita está no mês de janeiro como "Eggless chocolate bundt".

Ana said...

Oi Karen!
O link saiu direitinho! hehe! Eu ja tinha visto essa receita sim, inclusive ja fiz um bolo bem parecido q peguei receita no cybercook. Essa esta entre as receitas q provavelmente irei fazer! As criancas podem comer chocolate, e eu ja convenci o Matheus a querer o bolo de chocolate tbem! (a principio ele nao queria...)
Ana

Cate said...

This would have been perfect for this week's ARF/5-A-Day round=up; hope to see you there next week. :)