I love Tuscan White Bean soup. This recipe is a good base, however many of the suggested modifications should be considered. Chicken or vegetable broth, extra garlic, and extra thyme & rosemary. I prefer using broccoli over spinach for much more taste.
As a final touch, three necessities:
1. Fresh Parsley! About a handful chopped. Really adds a fresh taste.
2. Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stir in about a 1/4 cup at the very end. Can't make a decent italian soup without using a decent olive oil.
3. And finally, some freshly grated quality parmesan cheese on top. None of that store shelf canned stuff. Good cheese goes a long, long way.
Only an average, 3-star recipe as written with obvious flaws, but I saw its potential to become something wonderful so I made this knowing I would be putting my spin on it. I can say for certain that Italians wouldn't use vegetable oil, so it wouldn't be used in soup either...change to olive oil. The soup looked like it needed a serious boost of flavor, so I started by using some homemade chicken broth I had in the freezer that also had pieces of chicken in it - and no water. I didn't understand why the submitter chose to dilute her soup with water! I also sauteed some chopped bacon (more flavor!) in a little olive oil, then added the onions, celery and extra garlic and thyme. I think these changes really did the trick because this turned out to be really outstanding! I served it with a mix of freshly grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses, then gave it a finish of a drizzle of white truffle oil, which took this over the top! So with a couple of small but important changes this is definitely a 5-star soup!
Wonderful with the following additions:
double garlic,l/4 more beans, use chix broth in place of water, add onion salt and chix boullion to taste, add 3 teaspoons fresh Rosemary,double the lemon juice. Cut up your spinich about 3/4" wide by 3/4" or you'll end up with long strings hanging from your spoon. Made such a hit last winter at a church supper months ago and I'm still being asking me for the recipe.
Being Italian, I *always* add more galic than recommended. This recipe is no exception. I used 4 good sized cloves instead of the one suggested. This is a variation of something I grew up with, which my mom affectionately called "greens & beans". It was more of two side dishes sort of put together; not a soup. Very, very much like mom's taste-wise. Super easy and warming on a cold evening. Served up with some chunky bread and a glass of wine ~ fantastic! Another suggestion; in addition to the parmesan cheese on top, drizzle evoo (extra virgin olive oil) on top and add more fresh cracked pepper...delish!
I loved this soup. I added 4c.fat free/low sodium chix broth. I also pureed 1 can of beans with more chix broth instead of the water. I sauteed the onions celery and 2 leeks in evoo first. I also added a box of frozen spinach. Great texture with the pureed and whole beans. Lots of fiber and healthy I sprinkled mine with red pepper flakes and pecorino romano cheese!
This is a delicious soup with the modifications I included, some of which were suggested by other reviewers. I soaked 1 cup of cannelini beans in water the night before and simmered the beans for about an hour until soft. I added the thyme to the vegetables as I was sauteing them in olive oil. If it's a good olive oil, the taste is hard to beat. I added 3 tsp. or chicken base along with the vegetables and a TB. of tomato paste. I used a hand blender to blend the soup and then added a handful of macaroni. I did not add any salt as there's a lot of salt in the chicken base. A very satisfying soup. Thanks for the contribution.
This was really good! The lemon juice added a nice tang and brightened it up. I followed the suggestion to use a submersion blender don't think I'll do that next time because it didn't get it as smooth as I would have like without breaking all the beans up. I also used some frozen chopped spinach and this worked well. I will definately make this again!
I loved this recipe. I added ( but didn't need too )smoked turkey sausage. A very healthy creamy soup.
This just was not good. I tried to like it but I couldn't. The whole family disliked it. In fact my hubby is going to get a pizza right now. Sorry.
