Creamy Tomato + White Bean Soup

New Year’s theme - detox. A break for the booze + the sweets + rich foods. I swear - by the time NYE rolled around this week I was in rough shape. It’s just the small doses of things like wine + cocktails + buttery foods + cheese for a short, consecutive few days (in this case a full week), and man it me ready to hit the reset. My priority on New Year’s day was getting a juice cleanse order in and ready to be delivered to our front door ASAP and fully prepared to ditch all of the leftover holiday food. Goodbye Christmas cookies + cheesy snacks - season is over and I gotta get back on track.

My “detox” mentality means literally one thing - soups. Especially soups that are filled with veggies and are super hearty yet light + healthy as the same. And (best part) we can get an additional night or 2 of leftovers out of it. That’s an ideal weeknight cook for me! This Creamy Tomato + White Bean Soup is like my Winter soup of the season. I stumbled on this one towards the end of last year when I wanted something super healthy to eat and I have been hooked. It’s easy to prepare, a one pot wonder, so tasty, and I’ve been wanting to re-make it for weeks. And it fit right in to be our first meal of the new year, and a healthy kick-start to 2024.

 
 

For the soup

  • 1 tbsp EVOO

  • 5-6 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 sweet onion, diced

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 1 tsp dried basil

  • 1/2 tsp oregano

  • 1/4 tsp thyme

  • Salt + pepper

  • pinch of red pepper flakes

  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes

  • 2 cans of cannellini beans

  • 4 c. chicken stock

  • 2 tbsp cream cheese

  • 1/2 c. heavy cream

  • 1/4 c. parmesan, plus more for serving

  • 1 bunch lacinto kale, stemmed + thinly sliced

  • Flatbreads or pitas for dipping

Place a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the EVOO, and then the onions + garlic. Cook for 7-8 minutes, and stirring occasionally so the onions become translucent. Add in the tomato paste, dried herbs, and seasonings. Let them toast for another 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, beans, and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then let is simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Add in the cream cheese and stir until it has melted in. Decrease the heat to low. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and kale. Stir to incorporate, letting the soup continue to cook another 5-10 minutes to cook the kale.

When you’re ready to eat, serve it with a little extra parmesan, red pepper flakes, and any fresh herbs on top. We love to eat ours with these really yummy flatbreads from our local grocery store, but any crusty bread would be perfect.

Lesley ZehnerComment