4-Ingredient Spinach and White Bean Soup and Eggnog Taste Test

Bev had saved this recipe for 4-Ingredient Spinach and White Bean Soup from “Simply Recipes” and we decided to give it a try one day when we wanted a quick meal.  I wasn’t optimistic that it would be blog worthy so I took no pics of it - this one is from their site and ours looked just like it.  I followed the ingredients list but changed the instructions so as not to have to scoop out half the soup.

4-Ingredient Spinach and White Bean Soup

Ingredients (for two quarts):

4 medium garlic cloves

3 (15-ounce) cans cannellini or great Northern beans

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

5-ounce package baby spinach

2 tablespoons lemon juice, optional (I used 1 tbsp.)

Kosher salt, to taste

Crusty bread, for serving, optional

Directions:

Grate the garlic on a rasp grater or crush it in a garlic press; set aside. Drain the beans in a colander, rinse under running water, and drain; set aside.

Add the oil and garlic to a medium pot over medium-low heat. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, cook it for 30 seconds; do not let it burn.

Add half the beans and pepper to the pot and stir to coat. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the broth, bring it to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes more.

Add half the spinach to the pot one handful at a time, stirring and allowing each addition to wilt before adding more. Once the spinach is wilted, cook the soup for 1 minute more.

Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, purée the soup still in the pot until the spinach is broken down and the mixture is creamy and speckled with green.

Return to the heat and add the remaining beans and spinach and cook 10 minutes.

Add the lemon juice (one tbsp. at a time) and S&P to taste.

Serve hot.

Using a Blender or Food Processor

If you don’t own an immersion blender, you can purée the soup in a food processor or a regular upright blender. Be very careful when puréeing hot liquids in an upright blender. It is essential that steam has a way to escape while you purée, so remember to take out the removable center of the blender lid before blending and loosely drape a kitchen towel over the opening.

The Verdict:

We all thought it was very good and will make it again when we want a quick soup but we’ll double the recipe to ensure leftovers.

After eating with Eliza for her second Christmas, we decided to do an eggnog taste test for dessert comparing the Southern Comfort variety with the locally produced Weigel's brand.   

While they were both good and pretty similar, Weigel's was the favorite of everyone which supported my belief that it is the best purchased eggnog I've had - but not as good as my ex-wife's homemade version.

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

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

Larry

12/30/24 meal date