This hearty soup makes the most of root vegetables, paired with baby lima beans.
YIELDS 10 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz. (11/4 cups) dried flageolets or baby lima beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 medium clove garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 lb. bacon, pancetta, or sausage (optional)
- 11/2 cups chopped shallots and leeks
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- 1 Tbs. tomato paste (optional)
- 1 cup peeled carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons
- 1 cup peeled celery root, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 cup peeled turnips, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 5 to 6 cups homemade or lower-salt chicken broth or homemade vegetable broth
- 1 to 2 tsp. white-wine vinegar
- 1 cup croutons (recipe facing page)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Soak the beans in cold water for 4 to 12 hours.
- Drain and rinse the beans, then cook in a saucepan with garlic, bay leaf, and water for 45 minutes to 1 hour, adding salt and water as needed. Reserve the cooking liquid and discard the bay leaf.
- In a separate soup pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon, pancetta, or sausage (optional) until brown. Set aside the meat and fat. Cook shallot, leek, thyme, and tomato paste (optional) in 2 Tbs. of the fat until softened.
- Add carrots, celery root, turnips, 2 cups of broth, and simmer until tender. Add the cooked beans, 3 cups of broth, and 1 cup of reserved bean-cooking liquid (or adjusted broth). Return the cooked meat to the pot (if using) and simmer for 10 minutes. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Top each serving with croutons and parsley.
QUICK-SOAK BEANS:
- If you don’t have at least 4 hours to soak beans, you can quick-soak them. In a saucepan, add enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches, bring quickly to a boil, remove from the heat, and let soak for1 hour. The results tend to be less consistent than those you’d get from a cold-water soak, but it’s a good trick in a pinch.
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING:
- 300 CALORIES | 16g PROTEIN | 40g CARB | 9g TOTAL FAT | 2g SAT FAT | 5g MONO FAT | 1.5g POLY FAT | 5mg CHOL | 470mg SODIUM | 9g FIBER
