My Year In Soup-Week 20

My thyme plant is going nuts!

Here we go for another week! This was a recipe I found in the book Caprial's Soup and Sandwiches-thanks to the public library. With ingredients such as white beans, sundried tomatoes and pancetta, what's not to like?! I will say, this is an "all day" type of soup in terms of prep, and needs some planning ahead with the soaking and cooking of the beans. Perfect for a rainy day when you're stuck inside anyway.

White Bean Soup with Sundried Tomatoes and Pancetta

Source: Caprial's Soups and Sandwiches

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried great Northern or other white bean sorted and rinsed
6+ cups chicken stock (low-sodium or homemade)
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 pound pancetta or pepper bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 bulb fennel, diced-be sure to take out the core
3+ cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and julienned
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the beans in a large bowl. Cover with cold water and let them soak 4+ hours (or soak overnight). Drain and rinse.

2. In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, combine the beans, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat, and simmer until the beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more stock or water if necessary.

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium hea-high heat until hot. Add the pancetta and cook until crispy, but not too brown.

4. Add the onions, fennel, and garlic, and saute until the mixture is fragrant and the onions are tender, about 5 minutes (whoa baby-the aroma has people knocking on the door it's so good!).


5. Add the white wine and sundried tomatoes, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by one-half.


6. Stir the vegetable mixture into the beans and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes or until beans are soft.


7. Stir in the thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Adjust the consistency of the soup with more stock or water, if needed.

8. Serve with a great hunk of bread to dip in!


Notes:

• This was a bit time/labor intensive but oh, so worth it!
• Go light with the Worcestershire sauce and vinegar, mine was a bit too tangy.
• I'd probably dice, rather than julienne, the sundried tomatoes for texture reasons.
  
• The recipe really doesn't need any extra salt if using the pancetta.
• This recipe made lots and I even halved it!
• The cookbook recommended serving the soup with a tarragon puree or fennel jam but that just didn't sound good to me.