Tomato + Cannellini Soup

This weekend was the holiday overhaul. Packing up all the spooky Halloween stuff to replace it all with the sweet, sparkly, and festive Christmas decor. Including lights on the front of the house, tree in the living room, + everything in between. And the fact that we’ve had two morning with coffee on the couch in view of the lit up tree in the first week of November is what I consider a personal success.

We had planning for weeks to spend our weekend getting this place holiday ready, and to that called for an simple soup on the stove. Something we could throw together and let cook low + slow while we spent our energy finding the perfect home for our Christmas decor. Insert the easiest ever Tomato + Cannellini Soup. When you need something that just hits the spot, has all the cozy + familiar tomato soup flavors, and you need to whip it up in a flash, this is the recipe to reach for. I’m calling it pantry style because so many of the ingredients are those pantry friendly supplies that are usually around (or available at a pretty low pricepoint). So not only is it delicious, but it’s so simple, classic, and pretty cheap to make.

 
 

Pantry Style

Whenever I make soup, I’m pretty steadfast in my indset that it’s gotta be fresh. We’re using TONS of fresh veggies + herbs + any canned items are at a minimum. This recipe heavily steers away from that, but it’s so so good. Canned tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and canned beans - you got yourself a soup! With that said, let the record show that the base is a medley of fresh carrots (I went heavy on these), garlic, and shallot. And for my toppings it was a homemade pesto + the good parmesan.

Magic of bouillon

The thing I think that really make its - bouillon. Holy crap - kind of a game changer for soups! I’m such a broth girl but in the spirit of clearing out the pantry, I opted for the bouillon. And for me that meant the kind that’s refrigerated and comes in a jar, so it’s like a paste you measure out in teaspoons and then add water. No old school cubes here. Regardless, the flavor is just so much more robust. Like more chicken-y. maybe? It’s the big bold seasoning here!

I was a tinge generous with my teaspoons - I maybe ended up with an extra 1/4 tsp, which I like. Your girl loves some salty vibes! But the bouillon is salty + not something to mess around with too much, so definitely be diligent about measuring!

 
 

The last of the garden peppers!

The final unexpected treasure that made it's way to this soup were our garden peppers. Just a few from our final haul, and they were put to good use here. Jordan grows Bird’s Eye chilis every Summer, and we find ourselves just chopping these little guys up and putting them into eggs + so many different dinners we’re making. If they weren’t on hand, I would’ve absolutely thrown in some red pepper flakes or a chopped up Thai chile - something like that.

So good & we thoroughly how savory + tasty this soup was. The toppings + bread dipper definitely made it next level good, so I put those components in the crucial category. A very simple tomato soup I am sure we’ll find ourselves making again.

For the soup

  • EVOO

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 shallot, minced

  • 5 bird’s eye chilis or red 1-2 Thai peppers (optional)

  • 3 carrots, peeled + diced

  • 1 tsp dried basil

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme

  • Salt + pepper

  • 1/4 c. tomato paste

  • 4 tsp bouillon + 4 c. water

  • 1-14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

  • 2 14-ounce cans of cannellini beans

  • 1/2 c. half & half

  • toppings: grated parmesan, pesto (one you love!), & red pepper flakes

Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in about 2-3 tbsp of EVOO. Add in the garlic + shallots, and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring regularly. Add in the carrots, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook on low for 10 minutes. Stir the carrots every 2-3 minutes. Add in the basil, oregano, thyme, and a pinch of salt + pepper. Add in the tomato paste + stir to coat, letting the tomato paste toast with the veggies for 2-3 minutes. Add in the bouillon, water, and can of tomatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer, add in the beans, and simmer for one minute. Cover the pot + reduce the heat to low. Cook covered for 20 minutes. Uncover the pot + add in the cream. Continue to cook on low for 10 minutes.

When your ready to eat, ladle the soup into bowls. Top with parmesan, pesto, and a pinch of pepper flakes, and you’re all set!

Lesley ZehnerComment