Bean With Bacon Soup

Based upon reading about the healthy Mediterranean diet in the past, we continue to try to eat plenty of beans so when I saw the recipe forSlow Simmered Bean with Bacon Soup on Pam’s For The Love Of Cooking blog, I knew it needed to be tried.  I followed the recipe as written and shown below, but you can visit her blog for some of her always good pics.

Bean With Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. white beans (Larry used navy), soaked overnight

4 cups chicken broth (Larry used homemade)

4 cups of water

1 lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots, peeled & diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 roma tomatoes, diced, optional

Fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. Rinse and sort through the beans and remove any bad ones then soak them in 6-8 cups of water in a large covered pot overnight.

2. Drain the beans and place them back in the large pot.

3. Add the chicken broth and 4 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.

4. While the beans are cooking, cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until just barely crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Add 2/3 of the bacon to the pot of beans and reserve the rest for garnish.  (Larry added it all to the beans)

5. Drain the bacon grease from the pan (but don't wipe it out) and add the onions, carrots, and celery.

6. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.

7. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes.

8. Add the sautéed vegetables to the beans along with the bay leaves. Cover and cook on a low simmer until the beans are tender, about 3- 3 1/2 hours. Taste and re-season if needed.

When ready to serve, stir the diced tomatoes into the bowls or the pot, if using.

The Verdict:

We thought the soup was very good and a nice change from our normal soup beans. The amount of liquid made for a nice hearty soup, which I prefer.  Thanks Pam and I really enjoy trying recipes from my blogger buddies.

We recently went to lunch with friends Laurie and David (Big Daddy Dave) and afterwards visited a Sweetwater, TN bakery (Dave will blog about the trip) where I visited the men's room and was impressed with the unique toilet paper holder - some folks are just creative.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/05/21 event date