That Giada, She's Onto Something

In another life, I would make soup all the time, because it just seems so wholesome. I feel you can trust a person who makes their own soup. They may be smug, they may be self-righteous, but I bet you they wouldn't stab you in an alley. One notable exception, clearly, would be Al Yeganeh, the original Soup Nazi.

When I am capable of thinking clearly, I make this soup on a Sunday and then serve it on a Monday. I maintain the perhaps faulty belief that it's good for soups and stews to chill for a day because it intensifies their flavor. Or, more likely, I've simply lost the will to live.

The recipe comes from Giada DeLaurentiis. I am suspicious of her because she weighs three pounds, but sister knows how to cook. Plus, her grandfather is Dino DeLaurentiis, who produced countless entertaining movies, including Conan the Barbarian. For the record, at least three times I day, I channel James Earl Jones and mutter, "Contemplate this on the tree of woe." Yup, I am a soup-making Thulsa Doom.

Giada DeLaurentiis's Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices ciabatta bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and beans and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the cream and the pepper Keep warm, covered, over very low heat.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill the bread until warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes a side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.


If I were a better person, I would serve this with a salad, but I am not so good with salads so BACK OFF. And yes, the Sicilian Twist Bread (from the bakery at Wegmans) might be a tad charred but damn it, my husband likes burned toast so you shut your pie hole, you.