It's rare for me do any real cooking for lunch. Standards are things like pouring boiling water into a container of dry soup, maybe a peanut butter sandwich or tuna fish, or if I'm feeling ambitious, matzah fry (scrambled eggs with a piece of matzah crumbled in). But when I saw this recipe in the NY Times, it sounded really good to me, and so simple and quick to make that I decided to try it for lunch. I highly recommend it! This is basically tomato soup, but with much more substance/depth than opening a can of Campbell's. I had the soup with an apple and some nuts, and found that to be a very satisfying meal.
(Sorry for the extra spaces between the lines before the instructions--something odd going on, making it impossible for me to make them single spaces.)
TOMATO AND WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH LOTS OF GARLIC
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020733-tomato-and-white-bean-soup-with-lots-of-garlic
4-5 servings
10 garlic cloves
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or great Northern, including their liquid. Drain one can but use both beans and liquid from the other can.*
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup stock or water, plus more as needed
Kosher salt and black pepper
Heavy cream, for serving (optional)
Peel the garlic, then smash the cloves using the flat side of a chef's knife or the bottom of a heavy skillet until wispy and flat.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil, then add the crushed garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the white beans and the liquid from one can, crushed tomatoes, stock or water, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then partly cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until thickened and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
Using an immersion or regular blender, purée the soup until smooth. Add stock or water to thin as desired. (I did not thin.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I did not use any salt.) Option: Drizzle with heavy cream before serving. (I happened to have cream on hand, so drizzled some on the first time I served the soup. I forgot about it the next day when I had the soup for a second lunch, and didn't notice any difference. So, no need to add cream!)
*This is what I did, following advice from one commenter. The original instructions were to not drain either can, and use the liquid from both cans. I might try that the next time, as it makes it that much easier to leave out a step and not have a colander to wash.
This sounds like a great winter soup! Bring on some rustic bread and a simple salad. I wonder if using Rotel tomatoes and chili’s instead of regular crushed tomatoes might not be tasty with a little zip.
ReplyDeleteI know you love changing up recipes, Liz, so I was wondering what you might add to this :-) To keep it on the totally simple side, you could add some Sriracha sauce at the table.
DeleteAnd I meant to also say--I think this soup would be great for a simple supper with salad and a crusty bread. No need to reserve it for lunch!
DeleteHi Penny! Peeling and smushing 10 garlic cloves does not sound simple and quick to me. The dish however does sound extremely tasty. How do you feel about using already peeled garlic or jarred garlic? :)
ReplyDeleteYes, peeling and crushing the garlic cloves is the one place where a little more effort is needed than opening a can. I don't mind doing this myself, but if I didn't have fresh garlic on hand, I wouldn't hesitate to try this with jarred, minced garlic. By the way, the garlic cloves are much easier to peel if you hit them once or twice with the flat side of the knife--I do that all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'd printed this out from the Times, too. Glad to hear it's a good one.
ReplyDelete