A Winter Soup: Rose Garlic and White Bean
This soup has been a favorite of mine for years now as I seem to specifically crave it during winter time. It’s everything I want in a bowl of soup: nourishing, warming, and full of flavor. I happened to have l’Ail Rose de Lautrec in my pantry, which is a variety of pink garlic grown exclusively in the village of Lautrec in the South of France. This rosy-hued garlic is celebrated for its aromatic and milder taste than traditional white garlic. We picked some up this past summer while in Provence and luckily this variety of garlic can last between six months to a year if stored properly.
In this recipe I like to add sliced carrots and winter kale to the mix and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Hearty soups are always best when served with warm bread and salty butter. I purchased a round of seigle (rye bread) from my local bakery, though I normally prefer sourdough with this soup but unfortunately my bakery was sold out for the day. In Paris the early birds get the best bread selection! We always keep bowls of clementines around the house in winter as they make for a perfect dessert all on their own.
Rose Garlic and White Bean Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic ( rose or white)
3 15oz jars of cannellini beans
2 cups vegetable broth
1 carrot diced or sliced
2-3 kale leaves, stems removed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Pour one jar of the cannellini beans together with its liquid into a blender and purée. Drain the remaining jars of beans and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Mince the garlic and sauté together with the sliced carrots until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute.
Add the puréed beans, the drained beans and the vegetable broth to the pot with the red pepper and black pepper. Stir to combine.
Turn the heat up to medium-high with the lid on and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes with the lid off. Stirring occasionally.
I like to tear the kale into smaller pieces and add them into the soup when there is just two minutes of simmer time remaining. Once off the heat I finish with a squeeze of the lemon.
You can use the back of a soup spoon to smash more of the beans for a thicker consistency or leave as is, don’t forget to serve with lots of warm bread!
