This is one of two relatively easy and REALLY good soups that I’ve made lately from The New York Times Cooking. Since the pandemic began, the Sunday Times Home section offers a half dozen or so recipes each week from their award winning gallery of chefs. (They also offer a collection of savory sheet pan dinners.) I’m passing this recipe along as it fits my requirement for being BOTH nutritious AND delicious. Don’t be intimidated by the garlic as the tomato flavor dominates and raises the soup to a classic.
Tomato and White Bean Soup With Lots of Garlic
By Ali Slagle - The New York Times Cooking
YIELD…4 servings TIME…30 minutes
Simmer the lightly browned garlic with white beans and tomatoes, then blend, and you have a creamy, cozy soup that’s endlessly adaptable: Add aromatics to the simmering pot, or make it spicy with harissa, smoked paprika or chipotle. Top with pesto, croutons, cheese, cooked grains, greens or a fried egg.
INGREDIENTS
10 garlic cloves
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or great Northern, including their liquid
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup stock or water, plus more as needed
Kosher salt and black pepper
Heavy cream, for serving
PREPARATION
Peel the garlic, then smash the cloves using a meat pounder or the bottom of a heavy skillet until wispy and flat.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil, then add the crushed garlic, and cook, smashing with the back of a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until golden brown and beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the white beans and their liquid, crushed tomatoes, stock or water, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then partly cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until thickened and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
Using an immersion or regular blender, purée the soup until smooth. Add cream or stock or water to thin as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle with heavy cream before serving.